There will be Claws
by gamer4
Summary: In a world where the clans have fallen into ruin, cats have begun to mysteriously die, killed by a mysterious butcher. In this world, it's up to an unlikely hero and his companions to save clans that seem beyond redemption. Based on There will be Brawl.
1. Ruin of the Clans

Gamer4 in. Once again, I find myself explaining a new story before I start. As you could probably tell, this is a retelling of There will be Brawl from the world of the Warriors series. For those of you who haven't seen There will be Brawl, it's basically a dark (_very _dark) parody of Super Smash Bros. If you like this story, you should probably check out the original at . It's a ten-episode miniseries. Now, as a big fan of this series, I decided to make it into the world of Warriors, like I just said. Just to let you know, there will be several things changed from the original story, in order to fit the two stories together better. Okay, let's get started.

Disclaimer: I own neither Warriors or There will be Brawl.

"_And he looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah, and all toward the land of the plain, and beheld as the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a great fire."_

_Genesis 19:27-28_

There Will Be Claws

Chapter I

The Ruin of the Clans

It was a dark night, though it broke the tradition by not being stormy: the sky was clear, every star visible, not a cloud in the sky. It was a beautiful sight that belied what was happening below.

Down below the sky, there was a large forest, controlled by five clans of cats. In particular, nearby a dark-flowing river sat a lone cat with wild gray fur, with a darker stripe running down his back. His name was Graystripe. He sat, looking out at the island in the center of the lake, which in turn lay in the center of the clans. He could still remember the days when the clans had met there for gatherings. Each moon, they would meet under a truce, to discuss recent events. They still met, sometimes, but only on very rare moons, and never on that island. The island no longer had a feel of greatness about it, only dread. That island was where _he _had first attacked, the most feared cat the clans had ever known.

As it was, a gathering had just broken up. Graystripe was staying behind, waiting for something. What he was waiting for, even he wasn't sure of. Finally, he turned his back on the island and began heading home, to the Thunderclan camp.

As he walked, news from the gathering rang in his ears: news of deaths, disappearances, and abductions. Starclan, it was always abductions. Long ago, the leaders of the five clans had been noble and wise. But now the only leaders they had were Hawkstar of Skyclan, Scourge of Windclan, the only leader who had refused a true warrior name, Tigerstar of Riverclan, and Brokenstar of Shadowclan. The only true leader left was Sandstar, leader of Thunderclan. The leaders were almost always bringing news of new death and destruction nowadays, but Graystripe wouldn't be surprised to find out that they had caused it themselves. Things hadn't always been like this. They weren't always forced to squirm under the gaze of the island, under the eye of some unseen antagonist. There used to be the laughter of apprentices, the stories of elders. Something to care about. As he walked by two warriors who seemed to be struggling with each other over a nearby dead mouse, he shook his head, wondering if even he believed that.

Finally, he stepped into Thunderclan camp. It wasn't as crowded as it used to be. Ever since _he _had attacked, the borders of the clans had become blurred, with cats living wherever they wanted. The warrior code had been entirely shattered. They weren't so much clans anymore as a group of rogues who had some similarities to the old clans.

The first place he went was to the old medicine den. There were still medicine cats, but they didn't live near the main forest anymore. He needed something from there. As he walked in, he saw two cats laying near each other, rubbing around each other, purring delightedly. They were Fireheart, his best friend, and Sandstar, the last noble leader in the clans. Well, more noble than all the other leaders, at least. She definitely wouldn't be caught doing what the other leaders did. As soon as they saw Graystripe entering, they looked up, shocked, and quickly moved apart, looking somewhat embarrassed. As Graystripe moved across the den to where all the old medicines were kept, Fireheart finally broke the silence. "So, um... did you bring any fresh-kill in today?" It was a normal enough question- Fireheart _was _the deputy, after all- but Graystripe knew he had asked simply to end the silence.

"The day's not over yet," Graystripe said, looking through the medicines, searching for catmint.

Suddenly, another cat burst in. They all turned towards him: a pale tabby tom with dark stripes. His eyes looked forward unseeingly.

"What is it, Longtail?" Sandstar asked.

"I have news," he said, his head flicking around. Longtail had been blinded a long time ago, and had been forced to retire from his warrior duties early. However, ever since gatherings had ceased, aside from those rare occasions, it fell to Longtail to deliver news around the clans.

"What is it?" Fireheart asked tiredly.

"Well, what do you want to hear? Cats are saying things about Sandstar-"

"What are they saying?" Sandstar asked, turning towards him.

"They're starting to wonder if you're really fit to be a leader," Longtail said bluntly. As he continued his explanation, Graystripe let out an inaudible sigh in the corner, as he bent down over a pool to drink. It was this again. The clans had been hostile towards each other before the Attack, but in the Attack's wake, they had become very anti-peace. Anyone who showed any sign of peace-loving was considered weak.

"They're saying that you show bad signs when cats ask you about the war going on, and with the disappearances." Everyone in the clans would know what that was about. All the leaders aside from Sandstar herself were engaging in a seemingly-never-ending war over the land around the lake. Sandstar was struggling to stay out of it, but there was no doubt that she'd eventually get dragged in, even if they were currently in the middle of a 'Stalemate.' "They also think your attempts to end the war are signs of weakness, and-"

"Get out of here!" Fireheart growled, flicking his tail towards the exit.

"Wait!" Longtail said. "I have other news!"

"What is it?" Sandstar asked.

"We have two more bodies found," Longtail said, sounding subdued. "Firekit, from Shadowclan, and a Windclan warrior named Deadfoot. We still can't find the killer-"

"Okay, leave, now," Fireheart said, beckoning towards the exit once more. With Longtail gone, he turned towards Sandstar. "Maybe that will keep the clans out of your fur for a while," he said.

Graystripe turned to look sadly at Fireheart. There was a time when Fireheart wouldn't have taken news like that. He would have gone out to find the killer, maybe with Graystripe at his side. Not anymore, with deaths so common. Noticing his gaze, Fireheart turned on him, and roughly said, "What are _you _looking at?"

Graystripe shrugged, picked up the catmint in his mouth, and headed out of camp again, looking up at the sky. The moon was climbing higher. He had to hurry if he was going to make it on time. He headed across the territory, finally sitting down next to a tall tree. He didn't have long to wait.

Out of the forest's darkness came a three cats, one slightly ahead of the other two, heading towards him. He recognized the one in the middle, the apparent leader, but he'd never seen the other two. When they'd come close enough to speak, he confronted the leader. "I got your message," he said. "But I thought I told you not to come here, Hoot."

"Oh, did you?" the leading cat, Hoot, said. He was large and white, with a black stripe running down his back. "I must have missed you."

"What's with them?" Graystripe asked, looking at the two cats Hoot had brought with him. Hoot was a rogue who had started living on clan territory after the Attack. He worked with Hawkstar, but Graystripe hadn't seen him with these two before.

"Oh, this is Willie and Snapper," Hoot said, glancing at them. "They're for protection. We've got this butcher running around, after all. It's like that cannibal stuff all over again. You hear about those two new deaths?"

"Yes," Graystripe answered.

"All they found of them was their insides, all over the ground. _Tiny cuts._ No one knows what happened to the rest of them."

Graystripe pushed the catmint towards him. "As much as I love that image, I want you gone. Take this and go. I'll meet you for the payment later."

"Funny," Hoot said, looking at it. "I've got Dustpelt and his warriors searching everyone at every turn, and you expect me to take this, just like that? No, I'll take it when I meet you."

Out of the corner of his eye, Graystripe suddenly saw a flash of orange fur. _Oh, boy. _"Okay, fine! I'll meet your boy at the usual spot. Just get out of here, _now!_"

"Why the sudden rush?" Hoot asked, sounding amused.

Graystripe looked over at where he'd seen the flash of pelt. He saw Fireheart and Sandstar stalking through the forest. Just as he did, Fireheart looked over and saw the two of them standing there. A look of fury suddenly crossed his face, and he began stalking over to them.

"Mouse dung," Graystripe muttered.

"What's _he _doing here?" Fireheart shouted, looking from Graystripe to Hoot.

"Relax, Fireheart, he's just here for some-"

"You're not welcome in _my _clan!" Fireheart continued, ignoring Graystripe and turning on Hoot.

"Oh, this is _your _clan?" Hoot asked, still sounding amused. "I'm sorry I didn't realize. You know what, I was just going anyways. See you all later." He turned, motioning to Willie and Snapper to follow him, and they began padding away. However, after just a few tail-lengths, they turned back. "Oh, and congratulations on becoming the new deputy!" he added. "But, I have a couple of twolegs who've been lonely lately. Maybe you could..."

_Oh, no, _Graystripe thought as he looked to see Fireheart's reaction. Fireheart looked even angrier than before. He bounded over, and, standing directly in front Hoot, shouted, "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?"

Unfazed, Hoot simply said, "I'm calling you a no-good _kittypet."_

Hoot didn't have time to respond to what happened next. Before he even knew what was happening, Fireheart had him pinned on the ground, and was scratching at every bit of him that he could reach. He punctuated each blow with a shouted word. "I...AM...NO...KITTYPET!"

Graystripe, Sandstar, Willie, and Snapper all moved forward to try and pull Fireheart off. But he kept going. "I'VE BEEN AN APPRENTICE!" _Slash. _"I'VE BEEN A WARRIOR!" _Scratch. _"BUT YOU'VE NEVER SEEN A COLLAR-" _Slash- _"ON THIS NECK!"

Finally, Graystripe and Sandstar managed to pull Fireheart off. Hoot got to his paws and immediately staggered backwards. Looking at Graystripe, he said fiercely, all trace of amusement and smugness gone, "You bring that stuff to me, or everyone will know the truth about that worthless bag of fur!" he shouted, flicking his tail at Sandstar. After this, he quickly turned.

"Say hello to your brother for me!" Fireheart called out after him. Hoot spun around, apparently about to say something, but thinking better of it, and continued his flight from the territory.

"Are you alright, Fireheart?" Graystripe asked tentatively. Fireheart turned on him.

"You don't give anything to anyone without _my _permission!" he growled angrily.

"Calm down, Fireheart," Sandstar said, leaping to Graystripe's defense. "He was just trying to-"

"_You _stay out of this!" Fireheart said, turning on her. "This is between me and Graystripe!"

Sandstar suddenly seemed to stiffen. "You barely had any training!" she growled, then spun and was gone.

Graystripe looked between the two of them. To Fireheart, he said, "This is a tough world now, Fireheart. You don't want to end up in trouble."

With this, he bounded off after Sandstar. As he ran, he could taste the bitterness of hypocrisy on his tongue. Yeah, he'd said a lot of things like that lately. _Keep your head down, just try and live normally._ It was how he stayed sane, with the clans the way they were. But the truth was, he wasn't all that clean himself.

XXXX

This is why, when both he and Sandstar had arrived back at camp, they were soon to be found rubbing around each other, purring with delight. However, Graystripe couldn't get the idea that he was betraying Fireheart out of his mind. Finally, the two separated, going to opposite ends of the den. Sandstar looked over, seeing Graystripe bent over. For a moment, there was silence between them. Sandstar was the one to break it.

"You think Hoot's right," she said sadly.

"I don't think that," Graystripe assured her.

"Maybe you should," she said, standing away.

Graystripe sighed. "The clans were great once, but now every cat's being crushed by them. If you let them, the clans will eat you up and spit you out. Maybe... maybe that's all _I'm _good for."

Sandstar approached him, trying to make a comforting gesture, but before she could, they heard the sound of paws thundering across the clearing. In burst Longtail. They could smell fear rolling off of him.

"What is it?" Sandstar asked urgently.

Longtail took a moment to catch his breath, but finally, he managed to choke out, "Hawkstar's dead!"

XXXX

When Fireheart returned to camp, he had calmed down, and was prepared to apologize to both of them. However, when he found them in camp, they were in the middle of a heated argument.

"You're crazy!" Graystripe was saying. "This is mouse-brained! I can't let you-"

"It's not your decision!" Sandstar growled.

"What's going on here?" Fireheart asked, bewildered.

"Hawkstar's been found dead!" Sandstar said. "He was killed by the butcher!"

"But that's not why you're arguing," Fireheart said.

"She's going to Chelford asylum!" Graystripe said.

Now Fireheart knew what was going on. He spun on Sandstar. "You're not going anywhere!"

"This choice is made!" Sandstar said fiercely. "I know who he is, but the only cat who can get into the mind of the butcher is the one who did it before: the cat who led the Attack!"

"Listen to yourself!" Fireheart insisted. "You know who we're talking about here. You know what he's done!"

"If he had the chance, he'd take your skin off and _dance _in it!" Graystripe said. "He's-"

"A monster!" Sandstar interrupted. "He's insane! Do you think I forgot! I don't like him either, he's the most evil cat we've ever seen, but he's the only one who can help us!"

"Leave it to other warriors," Graystripe insisted. "He can't see you-"

"Leave it to the warriors?" Sandstar asked. "There are no more warriors in any clan who could be trusted with that- not even in my own clan! Even you two haven't been useful since-"

She cut herself off, and an uncomfortable silence followed. Fireheart finally broke it. "I'll go," he said. "It's still insane, and mouse-brained, but if you need someone to talk to him so bad-"

"I'll go with you," Graystripe said. "You'll need help-"

"You aren't going anywhere!" Fireheart growled, turning on him.

"Neither of you are going!" Sandstar shouted over them, turning on them both. "He'll only speak to me, and only if I'm alone! This butcher is killing more cats every day. And with Hawkstar dead, the Stalemate is done! Brokenstar, Tigerstar, and Scourge will all rush to fill his spot, and the clans will burn in the fire! How many cats do you want to die while you just sit back and do nothing?"

Fireheart and Graystripe looked uncomfortably at each other. The two followed each other out of the camp, heading for their own den.

XXXX

Sandstar headed down the dark path. Even though she knew there were warriors up above, she felt alone down here. Knowing what lay at the path's end didn't help.

Finally, she reached her destination. There he was. The most evil cat the clans had ever seen. He was patched black and white, and had a wild-looking face that struck fear into the hearts of all who saw him. Nervously, she called out his name. "Smudge?"

He turned, and saw her. His face broke into a grin. "Good evening, Sandstar."

_XXXX_

And that's the end of that chapter. I don't have that much to say here, so I'll just say: Please R&R, constructive criticism is awesome, flames are bad, Gamer4 out.


	2. The Lost

Gamer4 in. I don't really have anything to say, so let's just continue on with the story.

Disclaimer: You only really need to hear it once.

Chapter II

The Lost

Fireheart and Sandstar were walking through the forest. They could see the asylum looming up ahead. After a fair amount of argument, Sandstar had finally agreed to let Fireheart come. Graystripe had been unable to: he had business elsewhere. Finally, they pushed into the old, abandoned twoleg nest that served as the place's entrance.

Inside, they saw four warriors. Two of them were Dustpelt and Ferncloud. Before the fall of the clans, they had been warriors of Thunderclan, but in the wake of the Attack, they ran a group of warriors that sought to keep a relative peace in the clans. That's what they pretended, at least. The other two were Onewhisker and Talltail, two warriors of Windclan, and both on Dustpelt's force.

For a second, none of them spoke. It was Dustpelt who spoke first. "Sandstar. It's been a while. What are you doing out here? You can't let your paws get dirty, can you?"

"Watch it," Fireheart growled defensively.

"I thought you and your warriors had somewhere else to be tonight," Sandstar said.

"Well, the thing is, I missed your message for a real escort out here," Dustpelt said. "I couldn't let you come out here alone, so I took it upon myself to meet you here."

"You didn't miss that message, it was never sent," Sandstar said. "I didn't need you."

"Exactly," Fireheart growled. "She had _me_."

"You have to be careful, Sandstar," Dustpelt retorted. "If people see you with him too much, they might start thinking that you're used to running around with the wrong kinds of warriors."

Fireheart stood up, about to say something, but Sandstar motioned for him to remain silent with her tail. "How did you know I was here, if you didn't get any message?"

This time, it was Ferncloud who answered. "The news must have leaked out somehow. We heard a rumor, and what use would we be if we just let you disappear?"

"What warriors are we entrusting the clans to, if they follow any rumor?" Sandstar retorted. "Dustpelt, I have a clan that I want to see safe. And keeping that clan safe starts with talking to him."

Dustpelt sighed. "Cloudtail will escort you down." Turning on Fireheart, he added, "_He _stays here."

Fireheart opened his mouth to object, but stopped with a motion from Sandstar. Looking over, Sandstar saw a Cloudtail, another warrior of Dustpelt's, who kept the asylum safe. Cloudtail flicked his tail, muttering, "Come." Without another word, he turned and headed down the tunnel to where the insane cats were kept, and Sandstar followed behind.

XXXX

Graystripe was travelling across clan territory. By his side was a friend of his, Blackpelt. Of course, the clan boundaries didn't really mean anything anymore, but it still paid to not be alone when traveling across territory that wasn't your own. He wasn't entirely sure what clan Blackpelt was from, because even Blackpelt himself wouldn't say. His entire pelt was, as his name would suggest, black. Finally, they arrived in Skyclan territory.

"See you, Graystripe," Blackpelt said, turning to head back to his own territory.

"Thanks for sticking with me," Graystripe nodded.

"Any time. You need all the help you can get, with the clans like this," Blackpelt said before heading off into the darkness.

With Blackpelt gone, Graystripe continued to his usual meeting spot with Hoot. Their agreements were always the same. Graystripe always waited just outside the Skyclan camp for Hoot to send one of his 'friends,' for want of a better word, and the deal would be finished with them. He sat down, looking around, wondering who Hoot would send tonight.

Once again, he didn't have long to wait. No sooner had he sat than a cat came out of Skyclan camp, and, seeing him, hurried over. "Hey, Graystripe!" he said, waving his tail in welcome. The cat was black all over, except for his tail, which had a tip of white at the end.

"Ah, Ravenpaw," Graystripe said. He was happy that Hoot had chosen Ravenpaw to make the deal with. "You look happy tonight."

"Life is just great, that's all!" Ravenpaw said happily. He was the only cat that Graystripe knew who had gone relatively unaffected by the Attack. It was said that crisesbrought out the best in some and the worst in others. Ravenpaw seemed to be the only one who had had his best brought out by the fall of the clans. "For a moment there, I thought you weren't going to make it!"

"Yeah, I got held up," Graystripe muttered. Pushing the catmint he'd brought forward, he said, "Take that to Hoot, will you? Hurry back, and I'll have something for you."

"Right away, Graystripe!" Ravenpaw said cheerfully, rushing off with the catmint in his mouth.

With Ravenpaw gone, Graystripe looked around, considering going for a hunt, when he heard the sounds of fighting nearby. Investigating the source, he found that it was coming from in Skyclan's camp. In the center, there were two cats, rolling around on the floor. Other cats were standing around them, pushing fresh-kill and herbs around. Looking around, Graystripe saw Hoot sitting off to the side. He saw, with a small amount of satisfaction, that Hoot still had scars from Fireheart's attack. Kittypet, indeed. Nevertheless, he headed over.

Looking up, Hoot caught sight of Graystripe padding towards him. "I was wondering if you'd turn up."

"I heard about Hawkstar. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you're the only one," Hoot said, laughing darkly. "You know how they know it was the same cat as the others? All they found were his insides, just like Firekit and Deadfoot. No one had gotten any orders for a while, and, of course, that's unusual for him. So, a couple of warriors went into his den to investigate, and sure enough-"

"Who do you think's going to win tonight?" Graystripe asked, looking at the cats struggling in the center of camp.

"The clan's going with that cat there," Hoot nodded at a large mud-colored tom with long claws. "Clan warrior, goes by the name of Sparrowpelt."

"I didn't ask you who _they _thought would win," Graystripe said, looking at him.

"Well, I'm siding with him," Hoot said, flicking his tail at a black cat, who currently seemed to be readying himself for a turn in the main fight. "He really _is _a kittypet, but he's ready to end any mouse-brained fox dung that stands in his way. Oh yeah, it's going to be him."

"Best of luck," Graystripe muttered, turning and heading back out to wait for Ravenpaw.

XXXX

Sandstar and Cloudtail continued their trek down. As they descended, Cloudtail began speaking again. "He's trapped, but don't get too close to him. Never look him in the eyes. And do not- do _not_- tell him anything personal. I will be here... watching." With this, he pulled back into the darkness of the long tunnel.

As Sandstar continued on without him, she passed by another cat in the cave. He was large, with a black and white pelt. Another that she passed looked similar to Hoot, but smaller.

Sandstar headed down the dark path. Even though she knew there were warriors up above, she felt alone down here. Knowing what lay at the path's end didn't help.

Finally, she reached her destination. There he was. The most evil cat the clans had ever seen. He was patched black and white, with a wild-looking face that struck fear into the hearts of all who saw him. Nervously, she called out his name. "Smudge?"

He turned, and saw her. His face broke into a grin. "Good evening, Sandstar."

"I haven't seen you in a while," Sandstar said, sitting down.

"It's been about... oh, I'll say... fourteen and a half moons, and three days since you had me put in this place," Smudge said. Searching his face, Sandstar saw no sign of anger or resentment. "Can't say I've changed much. How are things up in the clans?"

"You know why I'm here," Sandstar said.

"Cats are disappearing, only to have their insides turn up a few days later. You want to know if I'm involved." It wasn't a question.

"Are you?"

"How could I be? I've been a prisoner here since last Newleaf. And you know I'm not, but you want to know if _I _know who it is. I hate to change the subject, but I'm curious: how are you doing under the pressure of being leader, with the clans falling apart? Do you worry that even your strength, fueled by a belief that the clans aren't truly rotting from the inside, and faith in a failing set of rules-"

"This isn't what I came to discuss," Sandstar said, feeling anger come up in her.

"-is completely futile?" Smudge finished, acting like he hadn't heard her. "Do you still hear the cries of those who fell to me? Do they whisper in your ears as this- ah- _butcher _reopens the wounds you'd hoped had closed for good?"

Sandstar struggled to not respond to this. Instead, she said, "A Windclan warrior and a Shadowclan kit, Deadfoot and Firekit, were found dead not that long ago. Do you know who's responsible?"

"Responsible for the death of one so young and full of promise? Responsible for weeding out the crippled- and insufficient?"

Sandstar had suffered these mind games from Smudge before. He was trying to make her angry. Rather than correct his last statement, she simply said, "Yes. Who did it?"

"I thought that you would have put your golden toms on the case," Smudge said. "They did a fine job of catching _me _for you, after all. What's happened to Fireheart and Graystripe?"

Sandstar knew that she couldn't answer. Cloudtail's warning rang in her ears: _Don't tell him anything personal. _"I can tell Cloudtail what we know already, and he can pass it on to you. Does that work for you?"

"It does," Smudge agreed. "I'll identify your butcher for you, on one condition."

"What?" Sandstar asked, feeling slightly nervous.

"Oh, relax, I just have a question that I want answered," Smudge said in what was a mockery of a reassuring voice. "Surely, it's very stressful, being a leader with the clans crumbling around you. You must have to release that tension, in the name of service to your clan. So, tell me, Sandstar, when you are- ah- _relieving your tension_- which do you prefer? Sleek and fire-colored- or wild and gray?"

This was too much, even for Sandstar. She stood up, said, "I'm leaving," and turned for the exit. However, she'd only managed a few pawsteps before she passed the large black-and-white cat she'd noticed earlier. As she did, she jumped back as he spit at her. She jumped back-right back to where Smudge waited in his prison.

"That wasn't exactly polite, Sandstar," Smudge said, still without any sign of anger in his voice. "But I can't say much for Bone's manners either. Naughty, naughty Bone," he said, waving his tail at the black-and-white cat who'd spat at Sandstar. Turning back to Sandstar, he said, "Give your information to Cloudtail. He can pass it on to me. Come back tomorrow morning, and I'll have the name of your butcher."

Sandstar wasted no time in her return to the surface.

XXXX

Back outside Skyclan's camp, Ravenpaw had delivered Graystripe's payment to him. "I don't know what that stuff you give to Hoot is, but it must be good for him to pay you like this," he said cheerfully.

"I like to think so," Graystripe muttered.

Maybe noticing that Graystripe seemed unhappy, Ravenpaw asked, "Are you alright?"

Graystripe looked up. "Hey, Ravenpaw. Do you still sing?"

XXXX

Back in Thunderclan, Fireheart and Sandstar were having another argument.

"I won't discuss this with you again!" Sandstar said.

"Look, Sandstar, I'm just trying to-"

"Go back to your den!" Sandstar said, turning on him. "We can talk in the morning."

Fireheart opened his mouth, closed it again, and reluctantly turned to leave.

XXXX

"Sing?" Ravenpaw asked confusedly.

"Yeah, you used to have a wonderful voice," Graystripe said, looking at him. "It's been a long day, things aren't the best. I could use one of your songs right now."

For a moment, all was silent, and then Ravenpaw opened his mouth, and began singing a low, beautiful song.

XXXX

As Ravenpaw sang, back at Thunderclan camp, Sandstar turned, and felt a bolt of fear at what she saw.

At the same time, Fireheart ran in, a similar look of panic on his face.

XXXX

When the warriors looked through Thunderclan camp the next day, they found Fireheart, unconscious on the floor, and Sandstar was missing. There was no sign of a struggle.

XXXX

The next morning, Graystripe awoke to realize that he had fallen asleep outside Skyclan camp. Panicked, he jumped to his feet, and was preparing to head back home when he heard a panicked muttering from inside the camp. Looking in, he saw Longtail and... Dustpelt. What was _he _doing there? Longtail was speaking to the clan.

"Sandstar has gone missing!" he was announcing. "She disappeared after an unknown cat broke into the Thunderclan camp! The only one there was Fireheart, unconscious on the ground." Turning, Longtail added, "Dustpelt, leader of the protective force of our clans, has made a hard decision. He's here to tell you about it himself."

Dustpelt stood up before the clan, and the unknown watcher, and announced, "These are harsh times that we live in! The clans are always in danger of crumbling, and now the last pure leader has gone missing. In response to this crisis, I have no choice but to take temporary leadership of all the clans, until I decide that it is safe for us to return to our normal lives."

From his silent watching place, Graystripe felt bolts of both fear and anger run through him.

_XXXX_

And thus ends that chapter. Please R&R, constructive criticism is welcomed, as it can help make the story better, flames help nothing, Gamer4 out.


	3. Shaking the Tree

Gamer4 in. And, as usual, I have nothing to say.

Disclaimer: It's not really necessary at this point.

Chapter III

Shaking the Tree

Graystripe was running. If he'd ever run this fast, he couldn't remember it. There was no thought in his head other than getting back to camp. As he ran, voices spoke in his head: _"Sandstar has gone missing!"_

"_All they found of them was their insides."_

"_You think Hoot's right."_

"_How many cats do you want to die?"_

Finally, he arrived back in camp. "Fireheart!" he called out. There was no answer. Fearing the worst, he rushed through the camp, searching everywhere. Eventually, he found Fireheart sitting in the old medicine den, chewing catmint. "Fireheart! I thought you were with Sandstar!" Fireheart lay there, unresponsive. Graystripe's gaze flicked to the herbs beside Fireheart. After the clans had fallen apart, he'd learned a couple of things about them, just to be safe.Urgently, he turned back on Fireheart. "How many of these did you take?"

Fireheart looked up, seeming to see Graystripe for the first time. He lunged at him, pinning him to the ground. "I did what I could!" he shouted. "Do you hear me? I did what I could!"

"Of course you did!" Graystripe said, slightly panicked. "Of course you did!"

"It's Tigerstar!" Fireheart shouted. "It's got to be Tigerstar!"

"Was it Tigerstar?" Graystripe asked urgently. "Did you see him?"

"It's always Tigerstar!" Fireheart shouted, and suddenly, his claws were out, and they plunged into the ground next to Graystripe. Suddenly, Fireheart looked horrified, and backed away, releasing Graystripe.

"What happened last night?" Graystripe asked urgently. "Did you see anything?"

"Only _them," _Fireheart asked, sounding scared at whatever thought was in his head. "They were creatures from the blackest night."

"Blackest night?" Graystripe asked, looking at Fireheart's face. It was full of fear and uncertainty. He'd almost preferred it when Fireheart had him pinned down. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Fireheart said, calming down- at least, to the point where he wasn't shouting anymore. "I didn't see... anything."

"We've got to go!" Graystripe said, standing. "We've got to go find Sandstar!"

"Oh, all of a sudden, you decide to grow a backbone," Fireheart growled, angry once again. "Why don't you face it, Graystripe? You were always her second choice!"

Graystripe recoiled, stung. "I'll be back before sundown," he said, and with that, he was gone.

XXXX

Graystripe made up his mind about where to go first immediately. If there was one cat that might know where Sandstar was, it was the cat she'd spoken with last: Smudge. He didn't like him much, but even if Smudge didn't have any answers, it was a place to start. He turned and quickly began running to the asylum.

Upon arriving, he found several warriors there: Dustpelt, Cloudtail, Onewhisker, and Talltail, among others. Most of the warriors were searching every inch of the nest that stood above the asylum itself. Dustpelt turned and saw him as he entered. "Graystripe," he muttered, like he had a bad taste on his tongue. "Who let _you _in?"

"I need to talk with Smudge. He was the last cat-" Graystripe started.

"We've already interrogated the prisoners here," Dustpelt sneered. "Is that all?"

"That's not good enough," Graystripe insisted. "Smudge would never speak to you and your warriors."

"Oh, but he'd give all his secrets to a worthless warrior like you, would he?" Dustpelt growled. "Get out, now!" As Graystripe turned to go, he added, "And don't go around _my _clans too late! You all need to be back in your camps by sunset." With this, he turned back to whatever he'd been doing before.

Outside, Graystripe sighed. It was obvious he wasn't going to get a chance to speak with Smudge. What now? No sooner had he thought this, than he turned and saw Hoot walking through the territory, flanked by Willie and Snapper. He quickly turned and bounded over to confront them.

"Oh, Graystripe, it's you," Hoot said, looking around nervously. "Fireheart's not here too, is he?"

"What are you doing here?" Graystripe asked.

"I thought you were smart enough to not ask questions," Hoot said.

Graystripe advanced on Hoot, and for a moment, Hoot recoiled, but then Graystripe simply spoke. "I need some advice. You know what I'm talking about."

Hoot laughed slightly. "You don't really think I'll just spill my-"

Graystripe continued. "I can give you some more of that catmint from my store. Is that worth anything?"

Hoot smiled slightly. "Well, maybe so. There's a cat who can give you some information over in Windclan. I hear she does a bit of work for Scourge, but she'll probably help you. But don't blame me if you don't like what you find." After a brief silence, he added, "It's a hard place to get into, and they know me over there..."

"I'll borrow Ravenpaw," Graystripe said, turning away.

"I'll let him know," Hoot agreed. "You know," he added, "there are great opportunities for cats like us, in a world like this."

XXXX

It was a little later that day that Graystripe met up with Ravenpaw, and the two of them began their trek to Windclan. As they walked, Graystripe casually asked, "So, how are you doing lately?"

"Good," Ravenpaw said, sounding as spirited as ever. "Did you hear that Hawkstar died?"

"Yeah, I think I did," Graystripe said. "Why?"

"Well, you know about that place he set up to take care of young cats who didn't have a home?"

"Yeah, I heard about that. He took good care of that place. It was one of his few redeeming traits. What about it?"

"Well, with him dead, I'm taking control of it now. I hope I can take care of that place well enough..."

"Don't worry. Any place you're running has to be one of the safest places in the clans."

When the two finally arrived on Windclan territory, the walked up to the place where they'd been told to go. It wasn't Windclan's main camp, but a gathering place for cats away from it. Graystripe attempted to go through, only to get held up by a warrior at the entrance.

"Whoa, where are _you _going?" he asked. "Who said you could come in here?"

"Hey, it's alright, Weaselfur, he's with me," Ravenpaw said, sounding as cheerful as ever, as Graystripe quietly slid a bit of catmint over to him.

"Alright, go on in," the warrior, Weaselfur, said, taking the catmint. Graystripe and Ravenpaw did so, and as they did, they heard Weaselfur notice a cat stealing something up above.

Climbing down a brief tunnel, they found a large cavern at the end of the tunnel. Inside, there were several cats watching a raised section of rock. As the entered, one voice called out, "And now, the one you've all been waiting for, Millie!"

Now Graystripe knew what Hoot had been talking about. No, he didn't particularly like this. Millie had been a friend of his back in the old days. Looking away, he beckoned to Ravenpaw. "We'll meet her outside."

XXXX

A little later, as Graystripe sat down and began eating some fresh-kill he'd just caught, he looked up to see Millie coming out of the tunnel. Seeing him, she padded over. "Graystripe!" she said happily. "Long time, no see!"

"I need names," Graystripe said, not wasting any time beating around the bush.

"Your visits used to be so much more... social."

"But now I need names," Graystripe repeated. "You know what I'm talking about."

"Well, let's review the facts here, Graystripe," Millie said, suddenly sounding colder. "Sandstar vanished, and Fireheart was beat... I'd say you're looking for Tigerstar."

"That would make sense," Graystripe admitted.

"But you didn't need _me _to tell you that," Millie pointed out. "Why are you here?"

"It doesn't completely work. Tigerstar's power-hungry, but he's too smart to make a move like that after Hawkstar was just killed. It would just make things even more difficult for him."

"Well, you won't know-"

"Until I talk to him," Graystripe finished. "Face-to-face."

"What if he's the butcher, and the one who kidnaped Sandstar?" Millie suggested. "It's a bit of a coincidence, isn't it? The clans losing two leaders in one day?"

"Tigerstar's a brutal piece of fox dung," Graystripe agreed, "but he's not insane. He didn't leave Hawkstar's insides all over his den."

Millie gave a small laugh. "When did you start caring so much about the clans?"

Graystripe looked up, suddenly angry, and kicked the fresh-kill he'd just been eating away from him.

Looking more serious, Millie said, "What will you do if you can't talk to Tigerstar?"

"I'll shake the tree," Graystripe said. "See what falls."

Millie smiled again. "Well, lucky for you, a cat in my line of work has a lot of contacts."

"Thanks," Graystripe said, dropping some catmint in front of her. "Take that for the name."

Glancing down at it, Millie said, "That's a lot for just one name, Graystripe."

"You don't want to get seen with that. I'm not supposed to be giving it out."

"Even so," Millie laughed, "you can at least get an escort with that." Turning to where Ravenpaw had been waiting, she called out, "Up for a trip to Shadowclan, Ravenpaw?"

XXXX

It was only when they'd arrived at the place in Shadowclan that Millie had been talking about that Graystripe realized what they were in for. In this particular place, (though it once again was away from the clan's main camp), there were several cats dancing with each other, toms with toms, and some she-cats with she-cats. Graystripe and Ravenpaw looked at each other nervously, but Millie came up behind them. "Don't worry," she said, apparently trying to reassure them. "I'll protect you."

In the actual camp of cats, as Millie looked through the crowds, she seemed to be looking for one cat in particular. Graystripe, looking around nervously, had his eyes fall on a cat he recognized: Blackpelt was over in a corner. "Blackpelt!" he said, going over. "I didn't know you would be at a place like this!"

"Oh, it's not like that," Blackpelt said. "I just do some work here to keep going."

"Yeah, sure," Graystripe said, looking around. He recognized a few other cats. Onewhisker and Talltail were there, and in one corner, one cat was dancing over all the others. He was cream-colored, but Graystripe couldn't completely recognize him from the distance. Millie was speaking with the cat quickly, and the cat waved to somewhere else in the clearing with his tail, and the two of them began heading over to Graystripe.

"Berrynose can point us to the cat we're looking for," Millie said quietly to him. Berrynose led Graystripe over to another corner of the clearing, where he pointed to a large dark brown tabby.

Berrynose tapped this cat's shoulder with his tail. The cat turned around, and smiled at the sight of them, and motioned for them to go outside the clearing.

XXXX

Once outside, the cat began to speak. "Graystripe, I'm guessing," he said. "The name's Brambleclaw. Millie's good to me. I've always wanted to see either you or Fireheart."

"Where's the important one?" Berrynose sneered.

"Quiet, Berrynose," Brambleclaw said, waving his tail at him. Turning back to Graystripe, he asked, "What are you here for?"

"You owe Millie a favor. I'm here to collect."

"The real cat who runs this place is out for the night," Brambleclaw said. "He just left me in charge."

"Just as well. The less cats involved in this, the better. I need to get in contact with Tigerstar."

Berrynose snorted. "You and your brother used to walk all over Tigerstar and his warriors, and now you can't even find Tigerstar himself? Maybe you're not so high and mighty without Fireheart around-"

"Quiet, Berrynose!" Brambleclaw said, suddenly sounding angry. Turning on Graystripe, he growled, "You think I'm working with _him? _A third of what I get here, I have to give to Dustpelt's warriors to keep this place going, and you think I'm secretly working with one of those corrupt leaders?"

Graystripe sighed, but Brambleclaw wasn't done yet. "The clans used to be better than this. I was over visiting the Tribe of Rushing Water when things fell apart back here, back when the Cannibal led his Attack. And when I got back and found out what Smudge had done..." he sighed. "I _wish _I knew the clans you knew. The clans that bred heroes. I can't help you."

As Graystripe stood and turned to leave, Brambleclaw added, "Don't be a stranger. Come back sometime."

Graystripe pretended not to hear this as he headed back into the main clearing to get Millie and Ravenpaw. Back outside, Brambleclaw glanced at Berrynose, who quickly turned and left.

XXXX

Back inside, Graystripe managed to find Millie and Ravenpaw and together, the three of them headed back out towards the way they'd come. "Can you get home from here?" Graystripe asked of Millie.

"Ravenpaw can take me," Millie said, glancing at him. "This was fun, Graystripe. We should do it again sometime."

Graystripe nodded. "Ravenpaw," he added, turning towards him. "Take this." He passed over what was left of his catmint. "That's the last that I have. Be good with it. It will get you places."

Ravenpaw smiled as he picked up the catmint and ran away with it.

Sometimes, Graystripe reflected, it was that easy. Sometimes, you just had to push. Just shake the tree.

As he began walking back towards home, he didn't notice a couple of other cats sneaking up behind him: a heavy brown tom with a scar over his face, and a huge ginger tabby. They crept up behind him, and before he could register it, Graystripe was unconscious.

XXXX

When Graystripe finally awoke, his eyes took a moment to focus. When they did, the first thing he saw was a cat sitting in front of him. He was long-haired, with a dark brown pelt. Glancing down, he could see that the cat's tail was crooked, like a snapped branch.

Looking back up, he watched as the cat spoke. "Do you know who I am?"

_XXXX_

Absent of anything else to say, I'll just say, please R&R, constructive criticism that can make the story better is welcome, flames are not, Gamer4 out.


	4. Strange Denfellows

Gamer4 in. The only thing I really have to say this time is in response to a review by Juniperleaf, who asked at what point in time this is supposed to take place in. The answer is, really, even I'm not sure. Probably the closest I could say is sometime during Power of Three. Since events are so different, I hadn't really thought about it. Also, there _are _going to be some supernatural elements in this story. I'm just letting you know ahead of time. Anyways, on with the show.

Disclaimer: (Insert comment about not owning material.)

Chapter IV

Strange Denfellows

_Graystripe lay in his den, gazing at a wall. Sandstar sat behind him, gazing solemnly out of the den's entrance. "This shouldn't have happened," she said sadly._

"_I know," Graystripe said. Everyone had been_ _consumed by fear lately, and the clans had begun to fall apart. "Where's Fireheart?"_

"_On patrol."_

"_Maybe... maybe we should go help him." Graystripe closed his eyes, as if trying to shut the world out. "Silverstream..."_

"_Silverstream's _gone, _Graystripe," Sandstar reminded him. _

"_It used to be so easy... Patrol the territory, chase off intruders... catch some prey... save some cats..."_

"_We'll catch him," Sandstar said, evidently trying to sound reassuring. "We'll catch Smudge, and bring him to justice."_

"_And what then?" Graystripe asked, swallowed by despair. "The clans are rotting from the inside. How can the clans be held together after everything he's done?"_

_Sandstar looked at him sorrowfully, but answered all the same. "One kit. No matter how far the clans sink, we're never past redemption as long as we can hear the laughter of just one kit." She leaned close, and muttered, "Pull yourself together, Graystripe."_

XXXX

Graystripe's eyes blinked open, and Sandstar disappeared. He felt battered and bruised, and he could taste blood in his mouth. His eyes fell upon a long-haired, brown tom. His eyes flicked down, and he saw that the cat's tail was crooked, like a snapped branch. The cat spoke. "Do you know who I am?"

"Yes," Graystripe muttered, anger clear in his voice. "Brokenstar."

Brokenstar smiled. "Do you know how I found you?"

"I can't say I do."

Brokenstar gave a small laugh. "You should have known the clans would sell you out eventually, if you went to enough cats. Should have been more careful, my friend."

Graystripe turned his head and spat out the blood on his mouth. It spattered on the ground. Brokenstar's smile faded slightly. "This war is coming, Graystripe," he said. "It's not up to you, and it's not up to me. Scourge and Tigerstar are calling for the clans' blood, and Dustpelt and his warriors are too busy choking the clans' liberty to stop them. But... how much blood this thing will consume? _That, _we can change."

"What's your proposal?" Graystripe asked.

"You go where I can't, and I'll get what you can't," Brokenstar said simply. "The word is, you're looking for Tigerstar. He's a hard cat to come by, especially in a war like this."

"What do you want?"

"There's a cat that I made a deal with, but he's somewhere I can't go myself. He's over in Skyclan, on Hawkstar's old territory. Hiding amongst the elders that got shoved there when the clans fell. I understand that this isn't a small task. With Hawkstar dead, the territory is filled with rogues and insane cats scaring the life out of the cats there. The place isn't safe, it's ready to burst at any time. I want you to find this cat, and show him this." With this, Brokenstar turned, picked something up in his teeth, turned back, and dropped it in front of Graystripe. It was a small stone, but looked like it had once been part of a greater rock. It seemed to be glowing slightly. "It's a piece of the old Moonstone," Brokenstar explained. "Don't use it unless you're _absolutely _sure that it's him. When you do, I'll know."

"You don't care about the clans," Graystripe growled.

Whatever remained of Brokenstar's smile vanished. For a moment, he seemed to be considering his words, and eventually he said, "Do you remember when the clans were great? Ruled by wisdom, driven by courage, and hungry for power. Cats lived and died by the warrior code, rose or fell through teeth and claws. Yes, the clans were great." Throughout this little speech, a sort of longing seemed to have come over Brokenstar, but it vanished as he proceeded, replaced by anger. "Do you remember how they fell?"

"Smu-" Graystripe started.

"Smudge's Attack!" Brokenstar said, suddenly growling. "The fear of the Cannibal! He taught us the true meaning of fear, and now we've fallen! The great clans, the greatest colonies of cats the world has ever seen, fell, not to rogues, or twolegs, but to one insane kittypet! A fat lump of fur that lurked in the shadows, bringing fear wherever he went! What _I _failed to do for so many seasons, this one cat managed in _two moons. _Don't doubt my intent, _friend. _These clans will know their new ruler, or they'll burn. We'll _all _burn. And that she-cat of yours, Sandstar? She'll burn very nicely."

Graystripe allowed himself a few more seconds of consideration. Finally, he said, "Who's the cat?"

Brokenstar's anger faded, and he gave a wide smile.

XXXX

This is how Graystripe found himself walking through Skyclan, not through to the main camp, but out near the edges. There had been no place for elders in the clans when they fell, and they had all been shoved into this area on Skyclan territory, along with several other cats that hadn't been allowed in the main camps anymore.

If it came to it, Graystripe thought, he'd save them all: Fireheart, his friend who'd lost his way; Ravenpaw, one of the last, if not _the _last, pure cat near the clans; Millie, a once-noble cat who'd fallen into shadow; and Sandstar, the last noble leader. But, he thought as he passed a lone cat slumped against a nearby tree, looking incapable of movement, how far down would he have to go? How far would he have to fall before he sold himself to the Devil,* to save the cats of the clans?

He looked ahead, and suddenly, he saw three cats emerge from the darkness, two toms and a she-cat. One tom had a ginger and white pelt, the other was dark-colored. The she-cat was a brown and cream tabby. "Well, what do we have here?" the ginger tom- the leader, Graystripe assumed,- wondered out loud as they began to wander around him. "A Thunderclan cat, way out here?"

"I don't want any trouble," Graystripe said, trying to back away.

"Sad to say, you've got trouble now, my friend," the she-cat said.

"Unless he's here to buy!" put in the dark tom. "These two are Billystorm and Leafdapple. I'm Sharpclaw."

"Want some borage?" the she-cat, Leafdapple, suggested. "It's cheap!"

"Or how about some poppy seeds?" Sharpclaw put in.

"We can even get you some rare herbs that you've probably never heard of before," Billystorm added. "You name it, we've got it."

"I'm not here to buy," Graystripe said, and the three cat stopped in their tracks, watching him. There's a cat here that I need to see."

"Oh, why didn't you say so?" Billystorm said, flicking his tail at him. "He's been waiting for you, we'll take you to him, come on!"

Billystorm, Leafdapple, and Sharpclaw began walking him further into the territory. Following them wouldn't have been Graystripe's first choice, but he didn't really have a choice now. As they continued through the territory, they passed two elders: a black and white tom and a pale gray she-cat. The she-cat was missing an eye. As they passed these two, the tom stood and began shouting at them. "So some cats fall on hard times, and what happens to them, huh? You fox dung! I fought for these clans, and now you treat me like this? I'm talking to you!"

"Here's some advice," Billystorm said calmly. "You'll want to stay away from old Patchpelt and One-eye. They didn't take it well when the clans fell."

"Cats out here have a habit of disappearing," Leafdapple put in. "So many deaths, huh? So many disappearances. Where do they go?"

"It's like the Cannibal's returned," Sharpclaw muttered. "No one finds the bodies, but they don't really want to look, so they just stop caring."

"Maybe you'll disappear, too, if you hang around with them," Billystorm came into the conversation. As he said this, they stopped walking. Billystorm turned to Graystripe. "That's some good advice, my friend. I'd imagine you'd want to repay us?"

Suddenly, Leafdapple and Sharpclaw turned and pinned Graystripe to a nearby tree. Graystripe dropped the Moonstone fragment he'd been carrying. As Billystorm advanced on him, his eyes drifted down to it. He stretched down, looking at it. "You don't want to mess with that," Graystripe warned.

"It's beautiful," Billystorm said, gazing at it. "This'll make fine payment."

"That's not what I mean!"

Suddenly, Sharpclaw's eyes fell on something else. "Shut up!" he growled. The other three turned to look at whatever Sharpclaw had seen.

Padding down through the territory was Talltail and Onewhisker. As they came through, their eyes fell on One-eye and Patchpelt. Onewhisker went up to One-eye, who was gnawing on a mouse she'd found, and stepped on it, pushing it into the dirt. Talltail padded up to Patchpelt and muttered, "Get a home."

Billystorm, Leafdapple, and Sharpclaw quickly withdrew from the tree, dragging Graystripe with them. "Mouse-brains coming in," Billystorm said. Raising his voice so that Talltail and Onewhisker could hear him, he said, "You're a long way from your part of the forest."

Onewhisker stood before them. "There's a new rule, from Dustpelt, the temporary leader of the clans. Maybe you've heard of it. It states that all those not on Dustpelt's force will be brought in if they're seen out of a camp after sunset."

"No exceptions," Talltail added.

"You're pretending to be brave on the wrong territory," Billystorm said, still calm. "Go back home, mouse-brains."

Both Windclan warriors unsheathed their claws. Graystripe smelt a battle coming. Trying to avert it, he said, "Look, Talltail, Onewhisker. These three were just showing me the way home."

"Silence," Talltail growled at him.

"Maybe you should take a lesson from that pathetic kittypet friend of yours," Onewhisker sneered, "and let the real warriors do their job."

Graystripe felt fury rise up in him. Maybe Billystorm and his friends had attempted to take the Moonstone fragment, but they hadn't insulted Fireheart. "Say that again," he growled.

"The rules made by Dustpelt and his force aren't up for debate with scum like you," Talltail sneered.

"Fancy words for mouse-brains like you," Billystorm growled, unsheathing his own claws.

"Silence, _kitty-warrior," _Talltail growled.

Fury suddenly arose in Billystorm's eyes. He lunged forward, claws out, but Talltail quickly sidestepped and pinned him to the ground.

Leafdapple and Sharpclaw quickly let go of Graystripe, unsheathing their own claws. As he stumbled forward, Graystripe's foot brushed against something on the ground. Looking down, he saw a stick with several scratches on it, looking like they'd been left by cats. He ran a claw down it, and felt emotion running through him with each scratch. There was a fine point at the end...

Looking up, he said, "There's still no need for anyone to get hurt!"

"Tell that to these mouse-brains," Billystorm growled from the ground. "Leafdapple, over there... she's very twitchy."

Graystripe glanced over at Leafdapple, who had her claws out and was obviously itching to pounce. "Do you know what will happen if you kill one of Dustpelt's warriors?" he asked, desperately trying to keep the battle from coming.

"Oh, they'll start an all-out melee on _our _territory," Leafdapple answered. "I'd love to see that."

"Stay still," Talltail growled. "Unless you want this kitty-warrior hurt."

Graystripe prepared for his move. The fight was coming, he could see it. "You kill one of these warriors," he said, "there will be claws." With this, he grabbed the stick in his teeth, and the fight began.

Sharpclaw jumped at Onewhisker, and the two of them began to wrestle on the ground. Finally, Sharpclaw came out on top, forcing Onewhisker onto the ground, pinning him there.

"Let him go!" Talltail growled, digging his claws into Billystorm's back. "Let him go, or your friend dies!"

"Don't do it!" Graystripe said, speaking to both Talltail and Sharpclaw. "You'll doom us all!"

"I think I have some fresh-kill here," Sharpclaw growled, preparing to end Onewhisker. However, just before he could, two things happened: Patchpelt, who had snuck over before, jumped up behind Talltail, pressing his claws into Talltail's pelt. Sharpclaw turned to look at this, just as One-eye, following up with Patchpelt, lunged into him, knocking him down over Onewhisker. Onewhisker jumped up, attempting to escape, but Sharpclaw reached up and raked his claws down his sides. As he did, Billystorm spun around, raking his claws down Talltail's stomach, leaving some scratches there. Talltail withdrew.

Back on the other side of the clearing, Graystripe spun around with the stick in his jaws. He turned on Leafdapple, who was nearest, and scratched her face with it. She withdrew, and Graystripe turned to see the other battle raging. Sharpclaw was racing past. As he did, Graystripe plunged the sharp end of the stick into his side, leaving a long, deep scratch there. Sharpclaw howled, but the stick was wrenched out of Graystripe's jaws, and he abandoned it, resorting to his own claws. Leafdapple furiously jumped at him as he turned his back, but Talltail reached out and pulled Graystripe out of the way. Graystripe and Talltail looked at each other for a second before Talltail allowed Graystripe to run. He did, only to trip over a fallen cat as he fled.

Talltail turned on Patchpelt, who had fallen as Billystorm attacked Talltail. Advancing on him, Talltail growled, "You'll get no sympathy from me."

Graystripe quickly stood again, and saw Billystorm with the Moonstone fragment. He lunged forward, knocking him to the ground and taking the fragment. For a moment, Billystorm looked like he was considering pursuing Graystripe, but instead, he turned back to the main battle.

Talltail was about to finish Patchpelt, when One-eye snuck up behind him and sank her teeth into his leg. Talltail let out a screech of pain, reeling backwards. Patchpelt quickly took the opportunity, standing and lunging at Talltail, sinking his teeth into his neck, again and again.

Graystripe turned and saw it happening. He lunged forward. If one of Dustpelt's warriors died...

But Onewhisker had noticed too. He started forward, only to hear someone behind him. Turning, he saw Sharpclaw staggering forward, struggling against the wound in his side. Furious, Onewhisker jumped forward and bit through Sharpclaw's throat. Sharpclaw staggered back, collapsing on the ground.

Onewhisker quicky bounded over to Talltail, and picked him up the best he could, supporting him. Graystripe looked at them. "He's still alive!" Graystripe said urgently. "Get him to the medicine cats, and he still might survive!"

Onewhisker looked furious. He spat at Graystripe and continued on, away from the battle zone, with Talltail still leaning on him, struggling to walk.

Graystripe turned. Billystorm and Leafdapple were over by Sharpclaw, who was struggling to breath through his torn throat. As he died, he looked up, and his face suddenly filled with fear. "End... of... days..." he choked out, and then his eyes closed, never to open again.

Billystorm and Leafdapple looked behind them, as Graystripe quickly turned to look at what Sharpclaw had seen. End of Days? That was the name Brokenstar had given him! The cat that he, as well as Patchpelt, One-eye, Billystorm, and Leafdapple saw was a sleek black and gray tabby. He was standing off to the side, having apparently watched everything with a quiet interest. Upon seeing him, Billystorm and Leafdapple bounded away, hiding in the shadows of a nearby tree, while Patchpelt and One-eye retreated to where they'd been before.

Graystripe gazed at the End of Days, the cat that had scared them all off. That was definitely the cat that Brokenstar had sent him after: he matched the description perfectly. But something held him back.

He glanced at the Moonstone fragment beside him. He could give that to the cat, and Brokenstar would help him talk to Tigerstar. But for what? Were _these _the cats he was supposed to save, and trust the clans to? Cats that hid in the shadows from this one cat, or brutally attacked those that were weaker than themselves? There was nothing here worth saving.

However, as he thought this, he heard a sound he hadn't heard for a long time: laughter. He turned and saw two cats, far away from where the battle had taken place. They were distant, but there was no mistaking it: those were kits, jumping around each other and jumping, lunging, and laughing. They were a gray tabby, whose eyes looked forward unseeingly, though he was playing and laughing just as much as the other, a golden-furred tabby. As he watched them, Sandstar's words rang in his ears: _No matter how far the clans sink, we're never past redemption as long as we can hear the laughter of just one kit. _They weren't kits, more apprentice-age, but seeing them playing gave Graystripe strength. _This _was what he was fighting for.

He turned and saw the End of Days again. He picked up the Moonstone fragment and moved forward with it. Speaking, he said, "I've been sent to meet the End of Days by Brokenstar of Shadowclan." With this, he dropped the fragment in front of him.

The End of Days looked from the fragment to Graystripe's face, and his smile chilled Graystripe to the bone.

_XXXX_

*I assume the clans have a Devil of some sort, or at least some sort of equivalent.

Okay, and that's all for now. Thanks to those who've reviewed so far. Please R&R, constructive criticism is awesome, flames aren't, bottom line, Gamer4 out.


	5. Monsters

Gamer4 in. Absent of anything else to say, let's continue with the story.

Disclaimer: Yeah.

Chapter V

Monsters

The End of Days turned and began walking across the territory, beckoning with his tail for Graystripe to follow. As he began padding after him, Graystripe could see the eyes of Billystorm and Leafdapple, hiding in the shadows from Graystripe's guide. It reminded him of Smudge's Attack, when everything fell. He saw the same look in the eyes of every cat they passed when they saw the End of Days. More than ever, he wished Sandstar was with him: her eyes had never been afraid.

Finally, they arrived at what looked like a cave entrance covered with ivy. Graystripe didn't even know if they were still on Skyclan territory. The End of Days pushed through the ivy, once again beckoning for Graystripe to follow. After a brief moment of hesitation, Graystripe pushed through the ivy as well.

The inside of the cave was unlike anything Graystripe had seen before. There was moss around the walls that slightly glowed, there were three balls of some sort pushed off to one side, that glowed with a color that Graystripe couldn't identify, and looked as though the End of Days looked after them with care. Strange plants grew in one corner, distant from everything else. Around the den (as Graystripe assumed the cave was) were several items that he didn't know what to make of. Against one wall was a strange rock that Graystripe was shocked to see resembled a cat, which was next to a gigantic ball of the strange, glowing moss. Though the rock resembled a cat, it was crude: the cat's eyes appeared blind and bulging, and seemed hairless and ugly. Averting his eyes, Graystripe turned to the End of Days, who was once again smiling that chilling smile. "Do you know why I was sent here?"

The End of Days opened his mouth and spoke for the first time. "When the last night consumes the day, the ground itself will open up and swallow us all. Salvation will only come to those that can escape our world completely." Here, he nodded at the strange balls against the wall, as if they were supposed to mean something.

"Of course..." Graystripe said, not knowing what this cat was meowing about.

"Oh, hi, buddy!" the End of Days suddenly said, looking over at the stone cat. Looking back at Graystripe, he added, "Rock says hello."

"Hi," Graystripe awkwardly said to the stone.

The End of Days turned to the plants in the corner, and began heading over. "Good old Brokenstar sent you, did he? Yeah, he's still shrewd. He's one of the few cats in these clans that can see how close we are. He sees that brute strength isn't enough anymore: it's sheer power that will open the way of the Dark Forest, and release the demons within." As he said this, he dug up one of the plants. It was, once again, unlike anything Graystripe had ever seen. He couldn't tell what it was as the End of Days pulled up other plants, scratching some up, chewing them, and putting them together. He was reminded somewhat of a medicine cat at work. As he worked, he continued his speech: "The clans just need one last push. Problem is, he's afraid of that darkness, and the beings that call it home. What do you think, Rock?" he asked, briefly turning away from his plants, and glancing at the stone cat. Though Graystripe could hear nothing, least of all from the cat, the End of Days laughed and answered. "Wise words, my friend," he said. Turning back to his work, he continued: "Rock here has been here since the beginning. He's seen the world's beginning, and the dances of the creatures: the creatures of the blackest night. If there's one thing he regrets, it's that there won't be anything left to see soon. The clans are dead: as dead as your, ah, _Sandstar." _

Graystripe spun around to face the End of Days, who gave a sigh and pushed two plants towards him. "These are done. They're potent, be careful not to drop them."

"Sandstar's not dead," Graystripe said firmly, dropping the moonstone fragment and picking up the plants.

The End of Days, ignoring him, glanced at the moonstone fragment, and laughed. "Can you believe this thing once had enough power to arouse even old Brokenstar's interest?" He turned and took it to the stone cat, dropping it there. "It's just another curious bit of history now. Even Starclan's been swallowed up by this blackest night." Turning back to Graystripe, he added, "When you give those to Brokenstar, tell him to let go of his fear. Tell him to... embrace the end."

Graystripe turned to leave, but the End of Days wasn't finished yet. "When Sandstar dies, the clans' descent into darkness will be complete." Here, he stood and began advancing on Graystripe, still speaking. "And you- you will beg for death as the creatures feast on you in- that- darkness!" Suddenly, Graystripe felt a blow to his head, and collapsed, unconscious.

XXXX

_Everything was dark. Graystripe ran through the darkness, searching for her. Suddenly, he could hear her. "Graystripe?" It terrified him to hear her so feeble, sounding so near death. "Graystripe? Help me."_

"_Silverstream!" he cried out, searching for her. "Where are you? Silverstream!"_

_Silverstream began to speak again, sounding more afraid. "He's coming for me, Graystripe! Help me!" Suddenly, her scream pierced through the darkness, before being abruptly cut off._

XXXX

Graystripe jerked himself awake, and Silverstream's cries disappeared. He looked up, and saw that he was once again in Brokenstar's presence. However, this wasn't the cave that he'd spoken with Brokenstar in before. Brokenstar himself was standing away at the far end of the cave. Graystripe could see that he had the plants that the End of Days had made already. "Looks like you two had a good time," Brokenstar grinned, turning and seeing Graystripe awake.

"What... what _are _those things?" Graystripe stammered, looking at the plants.

Brokenstar looked down at the plants, then back up at Graystripe, and his grin widened. "Ah, did old Darkstripe scare you?"

"Darkstripe?"

"You didn't think his name was actually End of Days, did you? He keeps that name to scare the clans: no cat likes to mess with a cat named End of Days. Don't worry about these," he added, glancing at the plants. "A while back, old Darkstripe found that, if you combined certain plants, they'd make a very nice burst of fire under the right circumstances. I happened to need some to keep the other leaders on their toes. Scourge and Tigerstar are still out there, after all. Can't have them messing with me."

Brushing this off, Graystripe said, "Alright, Brokenstar, I got you what you wanted. Where's Tigerstar?"

Brokenstar spoke carefully, weighing each word carefully. "I've heard that old Scourge is holding a parley soon. No one knows who he's meeting with, but that fox dung seems to think he's going to end the war with it. The way I see it, he's going to meet up with Tigerstar for protection from Dustpelt's force. Either way, there's something else you need to know. Tell him, Clawface."

Out of the shadows came the two cats that had delivered Graystripe to Brokenstar on their first meeting. Graystripe jumped back. "Relax," Brokenstar assured him. "Clawface and Jaggedtooth here work for me. You might want to hear this." Graystripe reluctantly nodded.

Clawface stepped forward, speaking in a low growl. "Dustpelt went around all the clans while you were out, speaking to all of them. He was saying that he had something important to say."

XXXX

_As Dustpelt strode over to Skyclan, Ravenpaw and Violet, an old friend of his, looked up to see him. He began to speak. "The times are growing harsher all the time. However, we cannot let our grief consume us: we must rise from it, and grow ever stronger. In answer to these harsh times, it is my duty to give power over all the clans to Ferncloud, who will now take the name Fern_star_-"_

XXXX

"_-until Sandstar, the last recognized leader of our clans, returns to us," Dustpelt continued at Thunderclan camp. As he spoke, Fireheart looked up from where he was chewing still more catmint, and felt fury rush through him. _

XXXX

"_Under Fernstar," Dustpelt continued on Windclan territory, as Millie, Blackpelt, and many others looked on in horror, "we will restore our fallen clans and break ourselves free of the evil around us."_

XXXX

"_Her official naming ceremony will occur very soon," Dustpelt said, back at Thunderclan, as Fireheart pushed the catmint_ _he'd been chewing aside and rose, leaving the camp. "Remember, this is for the benefit of the clans."_

XXXX

Back in Brokenstar's cave, Graystripe felt similar fury run through him. "That mouse dung," he growled.

"I just thought you should know," Brokenstar said. "Clawface will escort you to Scourge's camp. If I need you again, you'll know." Here, he nodded at Clawface, who headed out. Turning back to Graystripe, he said, "You know, Clawface was Fireheart's first enemy in the clans. He's had a lot since then, but Clawface was the first. It started back with- what was her name- Spottedleaf, or something like that? He was a great warrior back then. Such a great legacy." Suddenly sounding bitter, he added, "Do you know how easy it was to get him to hunt you down? To escort you to Scourge's place?" He sighed, turning back towards where he'd been before. "It's disgusting. None of us have any pride anymore."

These words rang in Graystripe's ears as he followed Clawface onto Windclan territory, straight to the camp, where Scourge would be. He was in with the corrupt leaders now. He hadn't assisted with killings, but still. What pride did _he _have? However, he couldn't forget those kits from Skyclan territory. As he crossed onto Windclan territory, all he could think was of his hope that he'd trusted the right cat, and that he'd soon see the world Sandstar had been fighting for.

Looking around, he could see several cats with each other. At least it was only toms with she-cats this time. Even Blackpelt was in one corner. By a fresh-kill pile near the center of the camp was none other than Spottedleaf herself, one of Fireheart's old friends, who Brokenstar had been talking about only moments earlier. Even she was working with Scourge now. Seeing her, Clawface shoved Graystripe forward a bit, where he could see a camp. He headed forward.

In the camp, he could see three she-cats and a tom sitting around a table. One of the she-cats was singing. Upon seeing him, she winked mischievously. Graystripe, pretending not to see it, headed further into the camp. Suddenly, a voice spoke nearby: he recognized it as Millie's. Of course, she worked like this too. "Graystripe! I didn't think you were into this kind of thing anymore!"

"I'm not," Graystripe said defensively. "I'm here to see Scourge."

"Of course," Millie said, laughing.

"What are _you _here for?" Graystripe asked suspiciously.

"It's just business," Millie assured him. "Come on."

As they headed towards Scourge's den, they heard voices leaking out of it. One said, "What makes you think you can cover _that _much loss?"

Another voice, one they both recognized as Berrynose's, said, "There's nothing wrong with what I've been doing."

"With the clans in this state?" the other voice shouted.

Sounding offended, Berrynose said, "It's all we can do, with Dustpelt's force-"

"Leave Dustpelt and his warriors to _me,_" the other voice, which Graystripe now assumed was Scourge, said. Finally, Millie and Graystripe pushed there way in, and Graystripe lay eyes on Scourge.

He was relatively small, looking more like a medicine cat than a warrior, but Graystripe had heard enough stories about him to not underestimate him. He was entirely black, with one white paw. His claws were reinforced with what looked like dog teeth. Turning to see who was invading his privacy, he growled, "Who let _this _fox dung in?"

Millie stepped forward. As she did, Graystripe glanced around. There were several she-cats in here as well, and he could see Weaselfur, the cat who'd waylaid him earlier, in one corner, along with Berrynose. One of the she-cats, with a gray pelt, seemed to be deputy. He turned back as Millie began speaking. "The warriors you brought with you from Bloodclan are still causing trouble, Scourge. I'm here to complain."

"It's a mistake I'll fix as quick as I can, if it means seeing less of you around here," Scourge sighed. "I know what the clans think of me, but whatever you've heard, the _last _thing the clans need is more bloodshed."

XXXX

Back outside, Fireheart finally arrived at Windclan's territory. This was where his investigation would begin: he had to find the butcher.

XXXX

"Is there anything else you need?" Scourge asked.

"No, but my friend here needs a couple things too." Here, Millie pushed Graystripe forward. Scourge motioned for him to speak.

"My name's Graystripe," Graystripe started. "There's something I need to speak with you about."

Scourge gave a laugh. "Oh, if it isn't Graystripe himself! Like I didn't know!" Flicking his tail at a nearby she-cat, he said, "Whitetail, make this cat at home, will you?"

Whitetail, a small white she-cat, rose up and headed forward. "Come on over?"

"No, I'll stay over here, I think," Graystripe said.

"This would be easier-" Whitetail started, but Graystripe cut her off.

"I'm not here for you," he said firmly. Whitetail turned to Scourge, who sighed.

"You're due out there soon," he said. "You'd better go get ready."

Sighing, Whitetail headed out of Scourge's den. With her gone, Scourge flicked his tail at Berrynose. "You get out too. In fact, all of you, get out. I can see that Graystripe wants some private words." One by one, all the other cats left. Before Weaselfur had left, however, Scourge stopped him. "Oh, and Weaselfur, you're going down in the third round. Don't forget it!" Weaselfur nodded and continued his exit. Finally, Scourge focused on Graystripe. "I was sorry to hear about Sandstar," he said. "I hear she got kidnaped. Where's Fireheart?" he asked, suddenly curious.

"He's not with me," Graystripe said, choosing his words carefully. "He didn't take it well."

"Well, I suppose we all grieve in our own ways," Scourge sighed.

XXXX

As they spoke, Fireheart strode across Windclan territory. His eyes fell on Spottedleaf. His eyes brightened and he immediately headed over. "Spottedleaf!" he called to get her attention.

Spottedleaf turned and saw him coming. "Well, if it isn't Fireheart!" she said. "I thought I'd see you soon, with Sandstar missing. Something made it inevitable."

"You look good," Fireheart said.

"You've been chewing a lot of catmint lately, haven't you?" Spottedleaf asked.

"A bit," Fireheart muttered. "Why don't you take a break, and we go catch up?"

Spottedleaf gave a small laugh.

XXXX

"So, what can I do for you?" Scourge asked. "You'd better talk quickly, I have an important meeting, unfortunately."

"It's important," Graystripe said. "I need to talk to Tigerstar, and I know that your meeting is with him."

"Hold up, wait a minute," Scourge said, growling slightly. "There are no parleys. The clans never had them, especially in this war."

"I heard that the war ends tonight," Graystripe said.

"You heard right," Scourge agreed, "but I'd sooner gouge out my own insides with these claws than get into a nest with that fox dung."

For a moment, Graystripe was obviously trying to restrain something, but the next, he knocked over a small pile of fresh-kill that stood nearby. "Graystripe, calm down!" Millie said.

"I was sent here for a reason!" Graystripe growled. "Sandstar disappeared on the same night that Hawkstar died, and now Ferncloud is becoming Fernstar, leader of all the clans!" Turning on Scourge, he growled, "Whatever this is, it goes deep!"

Scourge sighed yet again. "I know what you think of me, Graystripe, don't think I don't. When you look at me, you see some small self-indulging cat who would sell his own friends to suit himself; some random pushover with thoughts above his actual capabilities. Now, Tigerstar may be stone on the outside, but I've faced far worse for far less. Believe me when I say: I've had my share of monsters."

"I know," Graystripe said, suddenly sounding solemn. "You knew Smudge before any of us did."

"You know," Scourge growled, "if there's one thing I regret, it's that you got to that fox dung before I did. I was still about apprentice-age when he came through my old territory. Two of his first victims were my littermates, Socks and Ruby. They were always making fun of my size, I didn't like them much, but there's a difference between not caring for your littermates and not caring when some random fox dung takes off their skin and dances in it. I vowed that I'd catch him, and bring him to justice. I met Cloudtail on that chase. He never told me his whole story, but he wanted Smudge just as much as I did. We spent a while training together, preparing for the day that we'd catch him. When we happened onto Bloodclan territory, they were hostile at first, but we used our skills to help them out, and they made me their leader. I offered Cloudtail a place as my deputy, but he agreed only if we would use Bloodclan to catch Smudge. He knew I wanted Smudge caught just as much as him, and he knew I wouldn't be able to do it without him. But as much as I wanted Smudge caught, I was nothing to Cloudtail. He was _obsessed. _Absolutely _nothing- _and I mean _nothing-_ mattered to him but catching the Cannibal. We finally chased him down into the clans, but you and Fireheart had already caught him, and he was trapped at the asylum. So I made a new life for myself out here, as leader of Windclan, waiting for my second chance. Cloudtail wouldn't wait, though. He joined Dustpelt's force for one reason, and one reason only: to be assigned to watch over Smudge, day and night. While he continued chasing his obsession, I tried to bury the past, and lead both my clans as effectively as I could. You see, Graystripe, Tigerstar and his warriors have muscle, but _I _have the love of these cats."

"And where there's love, there's trade?" Millie suggested.

Scourge laughed again. "That's the truth, isn't it? Brute strength is out, Graystripe. The clans are held together by cats that have the right amount to trade with the right cats, or know the right cats to get ahead."

Suddenly, the gray cat, Scourge's deputy, pushed her head in. "Scourge, your appointment's here."

"Tell him I'll be right there, Ashfoot," Scourge ordered. In a moment, she was gone. Looking back at Graystripe, he continued. "Look, I liked Sandstar, and her disappearance doesn't help me at all. As one of the opposing leaders, cats might start to suspect _me _of being the butcher, and what situation does that put me in?" For a moment, he seemed thoughtful. Finally, he said, "Get Fireheart, and then we'll talk. Your reputations would do a lot of good for a place like this."

"Fireheart... Fireheart is..." Graystripe tried to think of the words to explain it.

"I know," Scourge said. "I'll tell you what: what Fireheart really needs is a bit of relaxation. Time to rethink things a bit. Maybe get his blood boiling somehow."

XXXX

Back outside, Fireheart was still talking to Spottedleaf. "So, how have things been going lately?" he asked.

"Cats are afraid to come out at night," Spottedleaf admitted. "They're as afraid of Dustpelt and his warriors as they are of the butcher and the corrupt leaders.

"Yeah," Fireheart said. "He thinks he owns the clans."

"Maybe cats would start feeling safe again if you made a comeback," Spottedleaf suggested.

As she spoke, Clawface appeared, walking up behind Spottedleaf. Fireheart felt fury rush through him. "What's _he _doing here?" he growled.

Glancing back, Spottedleaf saw Clawface, and gave a small smile as Clawface sidled up to her. "This cat bothering you?" he asked.

"No, no," she said. Turning back to Fireheart, she added, "What, Fireheart, did you expect me to wait for you?"*

Fireheart jumped up, unsheathing his claws and stretching them forward. Clawface quickly pushed an astonished Spottedleaf back. He unsheathed his own claws, and knocked a piece of fresh-kill Fireheart had just been eating back: right in front of Blackpelt, who jumped back. "Hey, watch it, will you?" he said, quieting as he saw the fight going on.

Jaggedtooth rushed forward to help, but Clawface motioned for him to stay back with his tail, then swiped his unsheathed claws across Fireheart's face. Fireheart reeled back, but quickly lunged back forward, clawing at his opponent's face, and jumping onto his back. Clawface managed to push Fireheart off, and he went flying back.

XXXX

Back in Scourge's den, they were interrupted again. Ashfoot looked in, saying, "Scourge, he's getting impatient."

"I know, I know, just a moment," Scourge said, and Ashfoot ducked out again. "It's not good to keep such an important cat waiting." As he said this, he gave a small purr of amusement, as though enjoying an inside joke. Looking back at Graystripe and Millie, he added, "You two have some fresh-kill. Tell the warriors that I sent you." With this, he beckoned for them to leave with his tail. Graystripe and Millie turned and headed out of his den.

Outside, Millie turned and asked, "How do you feel?"

"Conflicted," Graystripe admitted. "You know him better than I do. If he won this war, there would be peace, but he'd be in a high position of power. Would it be worth it?"

"It's hard to say," Millie admitted. "He's not clanborn, and he's got a bit of an inferiority complex, but he's no tyrant, at least. It might not be that bad."

Suddenly, they were interrupted by Spottedleaf, who rushed into the camp. "Where's Scourge, there's a fight-" she started, but she stopped when she saw Graystripe. "It's Fireheart!" she shouted at him, and he quickly turned and rushed after her, as Millie lingered behind.

Back out of the camp, the fight had progressed. Fireheart had a gash over one eye, but had left a nasty scar across Clawface's face, blinding an eye in the process. They were currently locked in a ball of fur, claws, and teeth. Clawface managed to push Fireheart away, but Fireheart quickly jumped forward again, ducking down and raking his claws down Clawface's stomach. Clawface came down and threw his weight onto Fireheart, who managed to push him away, and the next moment, they were once again looking at each other. Clawface lunged forward and pinned Fireheart to the ground, and raked his own claws down Fireheart's stomach. Suddenly, Fireheart seemed to give in, going limp. Clawface turned around, yowling triumphantly, not noticing as Fireheart jumped back up, creeping up behind him, and lunging onto his back, viciously biting at his throat once, twice, and a third time. It was about this time that Graystripe rushed in. Jaggedtooth desperately went over to Clawface, but he never moved again.

Graystripe rushed to Fireheart. "Fireheart!" he said, trying to calm him, but Fireheart pushed him away.

"Get off me!" he growled. Angrily, he spun around and shouted to the whole camp, "I'll fight every cat in all these clans, until I find Sandstar!"

Suddenly, a voice that Graystripe recognized as Onewhisker's echoed through the air. "Dustpelt's force is coming now! You will all surrender yourselves!"

Reacting to the voice, all the cats there quickly turned and began rushing away as fast as they could. Only Graystripe, Fireheart, and Jaggedtooth stood their ground, with Clawface's body at their side. Some of the warriors became visible, and they quickly began capturing as many of the cats as they could. Finally, Onewhisker himself appeared. His eyes fell on Graystripe, a flash of recognition crossed them, and he started forward.

Suddenly, Millie was there, and the two of them rushed away, heading back towards Scourge's camp, followed by Berrynose, who seemed to be following Millie as well.

The three quickly pushed into Scourge's den: if his meeting was still happening, he wouldn't know about the raid. However, upon entering, Millie suddenly gave a gasp of shock, Berrynose recoiled in horror, and Graystripe closed his eyes against the sight that met them.

In the center of Scourge's den was a pile of insides, clearly belonging to a cat. On top of them were the dog's teeth Scourge had used to reinforce his claws.

_XXXX_

*I've seen fan works that ship ClawfaceXSpottedleaf. _What are you thinking?_

I've ruined the tension enough. Please R&R, constructive criticism is great, flames aren't, Gamer4 out.


	6. Loyalty

Gamer4 in. Yet again, nothing to say.

Disclaimer: It's too redundant.

Chapter VI

Loyalty

_Longtail traveled around the clans, delivering the news:__ "Dustpelt and his warriors have raided Scourge and his clan with full force, capturing as many of his followers as possible. Hopefully, we'll finally be rid of this corrupt leader before the day ends."_

XXXX

Graystripe stared in open-mouthed horror at Scourge's remains. Just when they had been so close to peace, even if Scourge would be in charge...

Suddenly, Millie's voice broke in on his thoughts. "Graystripe, we need to go. The raiding patrol is coming." For a moment, Graystripe simply stood there, transfixed in horror. "Graystripe, let's _go!"_ Millie said, sounding more insistent. They turned and bounded from the den, with Berrynose following closely behind, and headed for a back entrance.

A few moments after they left, Onewhisker and Toadfoot, another one of Dustpelt's warriors, burst in. Their eyes fell on what was left of Scourge. Stepping back out, they saw several warriors fleeing from the camp, Graystripe among them. "Stop!" Onewhisker called out.

"Like fox dung!" Weaselfur said, jumping forward, and the two of them began to battle.

As they ran, thoughts whirled through Graystripe's head: another of the corrupt leaders murdered, Dustpelt's warriors invading at just the moment it seemed like Scourge would have ended the war... Had Dustpelt known about the meeting, and intentionally tried to stop it?

Suddenly, Millie pulled Graystripe aside into a small ditch in the ground, just as several of Dustpelt's warriors rushed past them. Wherever they were heading, they seemed to be too focused on it to scent them. Suddenly, they heard voices. One that Graystripe recognized as Blackclaw growled, "Surrender now, _kittypet."_

Graystripe's heart gave a jolt as the response came: "I am no kittypet!"

The three of them jumped out of the ditch and looked to see Fireheart fighting three warriors at once, Blackclaw among them. The other two rushed forward, but Fireheart shoved one backwards and clawed the other across the face, sending him reeling backwards. He then turned and began slowly advancing on Blackclaw himself. Blackclaw looked at his fallen comrades and back to Fireheart, a sudden fear in his eyes.

As Graystripe surveyed the scene, his eyes fell on another sight: far off from where Fireheart was advancing on Blackclaw, there was a cat that he knew all too well: Dustpelt. However, he was deep in what seemed to be an argument with another cat. The other cat seemed familiar, but Graystripe couldn't recognize him: he was covered in mud, disguising his pelt and scent. He was too far away to hear exactly what Dustpelt was saying, but a few stray words came over: "You have no authority- this is _my _force, _my _authority-"

Seeming bored, the other cat turned and his eyes fell on Graystripe. Dustpelt was too enraged to notice. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, you'd be _nowhere _if it wasn't for-"

Graystripe looked to see that Fireheart had his claws out and was about to jump Blackclaw, who now looked absolutely terrified. He quickly rushed forward. "Fireheart, stop! You've won!"

Fireheart turned to look at him, and reluctantly turned his back on Blackclaw. Satisfied, Graystripe motioned for Fireheart to follow, and turned to leave. Fireheart turned back one last time, muttered, "Fox dung," and bounded after him. Blackclaw, left behind, brandished a claw one more time, then turned around, collapsing.

Fireheart and Graystripe headed back to where Millie and Berrynose waited. "You shouldn't have stopped me!" Fireheart growled, turning on Graystripe. "You heard what he called me."

"Fireheart, we're playing with fire here!" Graystripe said.

"We're Sandstar's personal warriors! We're used to playing with fire! If you're too scared to do what has to be done-"

Suddenly, Graystripe interrupted. "Do you have any idea what just happened here?"

"Quiet!" Millie said suddenly.

"Yeah, can 'Sandstar's personal warriors' get themselves under control before they get us all killed?" Berrynose muttered. Both Fireheart and Millie turned to stare at him.

"Why don't you go back to Brambleclaw, Berrynose?" Millie growled.

"He can't!" Graystripe interjected. "Dustpelt will be after us by now. He'll tear down anyone who can be connected with us. We're on our own for now." Turning back to Fireheart, he added, "If you want to play with fire, we need a plan. And any plan starts with us getting out of here."

Fireheart nodded. Speaking more calmly, he said, "There's a series of tunnels underneath clan territory. There's an entrance not too far from here." Here, he pushed Graystripe aside and growled at Berrynose. "If you slow us down, I'll bite off your flea-bitten tail!" Here, he turned and began leading them to the tunnel. Graystripe followed quietly, Millie grinning, and Berrynose somewhat reluctantly.

Finally, they came to the tunnel Fireheart had mentioned. They quickly went in, and began traveling through the tunnels.

As they walked further into the darkness, Graystripe mused. There were so many twists, so many suspects, so many trails to follow. All they could do was move forward: it gave them the illusion of accomplishing something, of having a goal.

"There are only two left," Fireheart's voice broke in on Graystripe's thoughts. "It's starting to seem like someone's knocking out the corrupt leaders."

"And the noble ones," Berrynose muttered.

Fireheart spun, claws out, but both Millie and Graystripe intervened.

"Careful," Millie warned. "He's right. Whatever this is, it's caught up in the war. There's an obvious play for power here."

"Tigerstar's killing all the other leaders, and he kidnaped Sandstar," Fireheart insisted. "He's setting himself up as the only ruler. It's always the same."

"We can't be sure," Graystripe pointed out. "Tigerstar's not the only cat who wants to rule. I had an unpleasant... visit, I guess... with Brokenstar. Unfortunately, he's too smart to stay in one place. Even if he's the leader of Shadowclan, he's not always there. We wouldn't have time to hunt for him, even if Dustpelt's warriors weren't choking the clans."

"Well, I hope you have a good plan," Millie said.

"Don't worry, I do," Graystripe assured her. Turning to Berrynose, he asked, "Who was Scourge meeting with?"

"Scourge never shared his plans," Berrynose said. "He only trusted Ashfoot, his deputy."

"Well, she's out," Graystripe muttered. "Dustpelt will have her by now." After a moment of silence, he continued. "We need information on the butcher, but we can't involve our friends, unless we want them hurt. What we really need is a cat that knows about Hawkstar's death, and can afford to lose."

Here, he looked at Fireheart, and he knew from the flash in his eyes that he'd had the same idea. "Great plan," Fireheart grinned. "I've been meaning to pay another visit to that fat fox dung."

XXXX

Finally, the four of them came up in a tunnel exit on Skyclan territory. As they quickly went to where they needed to go, they saw Ravenpaw up ahead. As they approached, Ravenpaw looked up and saw them coming. He quickly jumped, looking guiltily from side to side. "Graystripe, what are you _doing _here?" he asked.

"Quiet!" Fireheart hissed.

"What are you doing here?" Ravenpaw asked, speaking more quietly.

"What are _you _doing here?" Graystripe retorted. "Dustpelt's orders said that we all had to be in a camp by sundown, that was hours ago."

"I was just looking after Hawkstar's old home for the lone kits," Ravenpaw said, softening. "They don't have anyone else. I don't mind. Hey, guess what! That stuff you gave me, Violet and I are going to use them to put on a show, to try and get some sympathy for them. Maybe we can make some things better... It's tomorrow night, if you're interested."

"I hope you don't run the show in the middle of one of the fighting rings," Fireheart muttered.

"Fight- fighting rings?" Ravenpaw asked, sounding taken aback. "What are you talking about?"

"Listen, Ravenpaw, we're short on time," Graystripe said, intervening.

"We need to talk to Hoot," Fireheart growled, turning to Hoot's den nearby.

"Wait! Wait!" Ravenpaw said, turning and bounding after them.

Sitting in front of the den was a cat that looked like Hoot. He sat on the ground, bounding around, chasing after butterflies, rolling on the ground, and tearing at the grass. All the while, he was singing a strange song: "Mumumumu. Dododododo. Mumumumu. Dododododo. Mumumumu. Dodododododo dododo dododo dododo do dodo do."*

"Jumper?" Graystripe wondered out loud, looking at him. "I thought Hoot kept him in his den."

"I'm not going near him," Berrynose said.

Fireheart shot a brief glare at him, then bounded forward, and shouted out, "Hoot!"

Jumper looked up, his eyes falling on the group. A grin momentarily crossed his face. Suddenly, a loud scuffling sound met their ears, and a badger burst out of Hoot's den. Jumper jumped back with a shout of surprise. "Waaa!" Even Fireheart took a couple steps back.

Behind the badger came Hoot himself. "Who's there?" he called out.

Fireheart stepped forward, but leaned back, an inexplicable pained look on his face, as the badger snapped at him.

Suddenly, Jumper interjected. "It's Fireheart! He went into the wild, right?"

Fireheart shot a glance at Jumper, but ultimately seemed to decide to ignore this one. Hoot flicked his tail at the badger, and it calmed, heading away to the sides. He then moved forward, steering Jumper away, where he turned to watch from the sidelines.

"So," Hoot said, turning back to them, "what's been going on? Did you come to catch up?"

"We're going to slice you up and feed you to your badger!" Fireheart growled.

"Careful," Millie said. "He'll have Willie and Snapper around here somewhere."

"Oh, I don't let those cats near my den!" Hoot said. "They're from the wrong side of nature! That's why I got this badger- even a badger is easier to tame than those two!" Glancing at Fireheart with a sudden malicious grin, he added, "Maybe old Midnight looks familiar, does she?"

"Is she an outcast?" Jumper asked, moving forward, laughing. Hoot sighed.

"Go back over there," he muttered, flicking his tail. With Jumper gone again, he turned back. "So, you're enemies of the clans, and now you need some help, right?" Fireheart and Graystripe exchanged confused looks with one another. Hoot's grin widened. "Oh, you haven't heard? Sandstar's golden toms are famous again! Longtail came through, delivering some news: you were at the scene of Scourge's murder. You've been made the clans' number one enemies!"

"We don't need a hideout!" Graystripe said, brushing this new idea off. "We need information!"

"You're golden!" Jumper said happily, looking at Fireheart and Graystripe.

"Quiet, Jumper," Hoot said, pushing him away again. "Is this about Scourge?"

"It's about the Cannibal, the Skyclan leader, and the last noble leader!" Graystripe said. "It's about all of them!"

"I trade information for information," Hoot said. "Do you have anything?"

"Plenty," Millie said, moving forward. "Scourge was murdered right under Dustpelt's nose. Before he died, he was going to meet someone important." Here, she pushed Berrynose forward.

Berrynose looked a little panicked at first, but spoke. "Only Ashfoot will know who it was now, and she's been captured by Dustpelt."

"Fine information," Hoot said, sounding satisfied. "You don't know who to trust these days. Now, what do you want from me?"

"Everything you know about Hawkstar's death," Graystripe said.

"I love all you guys!" Jumper said, rubbing up to Hoot.

Hoot sighed. "I don't know anything," he said, pushing Jumper away again. "He was always dealing with some new project each night, he was just a lonely piece of fox dung!"

"Fox dung!" Graystripe shouted, anger flashing across his face.

"Whoa, whoa," Hoot said, backing away a bit. "Look, Graystripe, you've got the situation-"

He never finished his sentence. Graystripe jumped forward and pinned him to the ground. Ravenpaw quickly headed over to Jumper. "Come on, Jumper, let's go find something to do!"

"Yeah, it's Ravenpaw, he's got the heart of a warrior!" Jumper said, happily following Ravenpaw away from the scene.

"No more dead ends!" Graystripe shouted, putting his paw on Hoot's chest. "No matter where I turn, that's all I'm seeing! I need another trail! If you can't tell me anything about Hawkstar, then connect me to Brokenstar!"

"I don't know anything about Brokenstar!" Hoot said, panicking. "He's too secretive! But if you wanted a connection to _Riverclan..."_

"You can lead us to Tigerstar?" Fireheart said, suddenly sounding interested.

"Well, I know a cat who was close to him," Hoot said. "You just have to find him. Right now, he's probably running around, telling everyone how Dustpelt's doing everything he can to get rid of Sandstar's not-so-golden toms."

Fireheart and Graystripe exchanged a quick look of disbelief before Graystripe released Hoot.

XXXX

In an obscure part of Thunderclan territory, Longtail was briefly listening around. One had to be careful about their enemies. That he had been blinded only increased his other senses. Assured that they were alone, he turned to the two warriors with him, who both had several herbs with them. "Let's get to work, shall we?" he said, heading over to them. Suddenly, they all looked up as they heard pawsteps coming across the territory. They backed up as Fireheart, Graystripe, Millie and Berrynose all walked in.

"You have something to answer for," Fireheart growled. While he and Graystripe advanced on Longtail, Millie pushed the other two away.

"Fireheart and Graystripe," Longtail said. "Well, while you two are busy attacking cats' dens, and terrifying these clans, _I _deliver information to these poor, terrified cats. They rely on it. It's all they _have _to rely on." Flicking his ears at Fireheart, he added, "I wouldn't expect a kittypet to understand-"

He was cut off as both Fireheart and Graystripe pushed him back against the wall. "I'm not a kittypet," Fireheart growled.

"Start talking," Graystripe demanded. "We know that you work with Riverclan."

"I used to," Longtail agreed. "But now Dustpelt's force wants in on it. They were too dangerous to turn away."

"But you've supported Tigerstar since the beginning, haven't you?" Graystripe accused.

"Of course," Longtail growled. "Tigerstar's warriors are the last group you want to have as enemies. With Scourge and Hawkstar dead, Sandstar missing, and Brokenstar skulking in the shadows, Tigerstar's ready to take the clans for himself. He's getting ready even as we speak."

"What about Dustpelt's force, and Fernstar?" Graystripe asked.

"That force is a failure, we both know that," Longtail growled. "Of course, there are _rumors _that they're getting ready to retake the clans, to restore order, bring back the greatness, but those are just rumors. They're like scared little _mice. _And they should be. They know the pain that Tigerstar will rain upon every corrupted one of them." Suddenly, he lashed out with a claw. However, Fireheart and Graystripe, expecting this, had long since moved to the sides, and Longtail's claw connected only with air. Fireheart quickly moved in and pinned Lontail to the ground.

Suddenly, Millie's ears perked up. Flicking her tail at Berrynose, she quickly said, "Keep watch outside!" Berrynose nodded and headed out.

"Okay, okay!" Longtail muttered, under Fireheart's weight. "Of course, I get most of my news while I'm traveling around, but all my higher information comes from one cat, but he's been keeping quiet lately. You're welcome to him. But you'll need something to convince him to cooperate. You want something like that? You need to let me go for a moment."

Reluctantly, Fireheart released Longtail, motioning to Millie to make sure he didn't leave, and Longtail headed over to the other side of the den. Fireheart's eyes fell on a bit of catmint nearby, and he brought it over and began chewing on it. Looking back at Graystripe, he muttered, "Great clans, right? They depend on whimpering mouse-brains like this."

"I'm just over here!" Longtail objected.

Ignoring him, Fireheart chewed a bit more catmint. "Once Sandstar's safe," he said, "I'm going to clean these clans up. No more of these herbs. I'm really going to do it this time." Chewing a bit more catmint, he added, "That badger, that Hoot had? Midnight? She was a friend of mine, back when the clans were still great. But when they fell, and we all had to start relying on ourselves, and had to start trading, I sold her out to that fat fox dung when I fell on some hard times. I needed some of what he had to keep _myself _going." He gave a bitter laugh. "Great hero, right? Yeah, the clans _really _deserve me."

"Times have changed," Graystripe said, looking sadly at his friend. He hadn't realized how much Fireheart hated how far the clans- and even himself- had fallen. "You can't do it alone anymore."

"Alone?" Fireheart asked. "Sandstar did have _two _golden toms, didn't she?"

Graystripe threw a grateful glance at Fireheart, and got one in return.

Fireheart turned around towards Longtail. "Let's get out of here," he muttered.

Turning back, Longtail said, "Okay, I've got a secret about that cat that he doesn't want known. I'm just lucky I'm blind, or I might not have noticed. Anyways-"

Suddenly, Millie shouted, "Look out!"

Spinning around, they all saw a cat burst into the den. It was the same mud-covered cat Graystripe had seen Dustpelt talking with earlier. He lunged forward, almost landing on top of Millie, but she ducked to the side. The cat turned, seeing them all, and, after a brief moment, turned and ran.

"That's him!" Longtail shouted, standing back up.

Suddenly, they heard several more paws thudding across the territory. Fireheart quickly bounded over to Graystripe and Millie. "That's Dustpelt's force! You have to go!" he growled. "I'll meet you outside." Turning back on Longtail, he growled, "Tell me what it was you were going to say."

Graystripe and Millie quickly ran out, where they saw Berrynose, who was looking around guiltily. Suddenly sounding suspicious, Millie growled, "Did you tell someone we were coming here?"

"Only Brambleclaw!" Berrynose said quickly. "But he wouldn't-"

"Brambleclaw betrayed us!" Graystripe muttered angrily. Berrynose looked shattered. Turning back to Millie, he quickly said, "We have to get back to the tunnel. We can meet Fireheart there!"

"Don't worry about that!" said another voice as Fireheart bounded down after them. "We have to go now!"

They turned and quickly bounded away, only to find their path blocked by Toadstep and Blackclaw. Fireheart motioned for them to stay back with his tail, and advanced on them menacingly.

XXXX

Elsewhere, Longtail bounded away from the den, only to hear and scent several cats that weren't on Dustpelt's force. He quickly thought of the story to give them for this. "Cats of the clans!" he started. "Just moments ago, I was attacked, in my _own den,_ by-"

XXXX

Just outside the den, Toadstep and Blackclaw lay on the ground, unconscious. They all turned to leave, when suddenly a badger stepped out of the darkness, advancing on them menacingly. Graystripe could recognize the scent: this was Midnight. Fireheart spun to face them. "You go on! I have some unfinished business."

"Fireheart, you can't-" Graystripe started.

"Hurry!" Fireheart demanded. "I'll meet you in the tunnels." With the others gone, Fireheart turned and began padding toward Midnight. "Let's see if you remember good old Fireheart, shall we?"

XXXX

Graystripe, Millie, and Berrynose ran through the tunnels, only to find their way blocked by Dustpelt, the mud-covered cat, and Onewhisker. "What are you three doing down here?" Dustpelt asked, with a hint of menace in his voice, as yet another cat came up behind them: Hoot.

"What?" Graystripe asked, seeing him. "You greedy fox dung!"

"It's _deputy _fox dung to you," Hoot grinned. "Information goes for a lot these days. I told you, didn't I? There are great opportunities for cats like us, with the world like this."

"I _knew _it wasn't Brambleclaw," Berrynose said.

"Quiet!" Millie hissed. "He can't save us now!"

XXXX

Back aboveground, Toadstep and Blackclaw awoke. Upon this awakening, the first thing they saw was Fireheart, on top of the badger, laughing wildly as he raked his claws down its back. They quickly turned and ran.

Meeting Dustpelt and the others in the tunnels, Blackclaw said, "We have to finish this up _now! _That cat back there- he's _crazy!" _

Graystripe turned to Onewhisker. "There _can't _be anymore bloodshed!" he said. "I tried to save your partner!"

Suddenly, a look of fury crossed Onewhisker's face. "His name is _Talltail," _he growled, advancing on Graystripe. "Don't ruin his name by letting it come out of _your _mouth!" With this, he jumped on Graystripe. He didn't know exactly where Onewhisker bit him, but wherever it was, it was close to his throat. The rest of the warriors advanced on the three, beating them relentlessly. As they did, the last thought Graystripe had before he fell, unconscious, was that no matter what happened to him, they at least didn't have Fireheart.

XXXX

Longtail raised his voice above the crowd of cats there. "I must remind you that we _have _to stay strong! I'm sure that, by now, we are finally rid of Firehear, Graystripe, and their evil deeds, and-"

However he would have finished this sentence, he was interrupted when a badger burst out of the forest behind him, knocking him aside. Clinging to the top of the badger, laughing wildly as he steered, was Fireheart.

_XXXX_

*If you recognize this, you deserve something.

And thus ends another chapter. Please R&R, constructive criticism is fine, flames aren't, Gamer4 out.


	7. Pandora's Box

Gamer4 in. There's still nothing to say.

Disclaimer: This is starting to get on my nerves. Really.

Chapter VII

Pandora's Box

When Graystripe next awoke, every bit of him was in pain. Weakly looking up, he saw several cats standing around him. He couldn't recognize any of them from his position. One of them spoke, and he recognized Hoot's voice. "Why are you holding on to this one? Put him in the prison with the rest of the others."

Another voice spoke, one that Graystripe recognized as Onewhisker's: "We're following Fernstar's orders. It's not up to us to question our leader's orders."

"She hasn't got her nine lives yet," Hoot pointed out.

"She would, if she wasn't still in that conflict with Dustpelt," said Blackclaw's voice.

"Quiet," Onewhisker said. "That's not _our _battle."

As Graystripe pulled himself further into consciousness, he realized he must be in the old, abandoned twoleg nest that served as the camp for Dustpelt's force. The faces of the cats started to come into better focus, and he could see Toadstep sitting near Blackclaw, as well as a Windclan warrior that he recognized as Nightcloud. "He's been going around the clans lately," Toadstep said. "Maybe they think he knows who the butcher is."

"I heard he's suspected of working with the Shadowclan 'leader,'" Nightcloud muttered, looking at him hostilely.

"Old Brokenstar, huh?" Blackclaw wondered. "If he wanted trouble, he found the right way to go about it."

"Oh, the only cats he knows aren't worth dealing with," Hoot sneered.

"Quiet!" came another voice, one that Graystripe recognized as Fernstar's. She entered the den, looking around. "Has he said anything?" she asked, sounding strangely urgent. "Anything at all?"

"He's been unconscious since we captured him," Onewhisker said.

"Well, he's awake now," Fernstar said, looking at him and realizing this fact. "Send him to be questioned."

"He's in no condition to tell us anything," Onewhisker objected. "He's useless!"

"And whose fault is that?" Fernstar retorted. "Maybe if you were a good enough warrior to keep Talltail out of the medicine den, you wouldn't have had that fit in the tunnels." Turning to face all the warriors, she said, "Question the others. We'll take care of him when he's more fit." With this, she turned and left.

As Graystripe passed out again, the last thing he saw was Hoot turning toward him.

XXXX

When he next awoke, he was in a corner of a tunnel underneath the twoleg den. They were being guarded by several warriors. He could see several other prisoners in the den, including Millie, Berrynose, and Whitetail, one of Scourge's she-cats. There were several others as well that he didn't recognize.

Though he fought against it, he repeatedly fell unconscious again. As they waited for him to regain his strength, they took the others in for questioning one by one. The next day, Millie went away with Hoot, while Berrynose went with Blackclaw and Toadstep. They both returned battered and bloodied. Millie sat down, struggling to look dignified, while Berrynose collapsed into the corner, trembling. Occasionally, new cats were brought in: Weaselfur shared Graystripe's corner of the cave.

The only news they had about the clans was what they overheard from the warriors of Dustpelt's force. Riverclan- Tigerstar's warriors- were on the move, just as Longtail had said. They were after Dustpelt's warriors, as well as any cat that got in their way. The way they talked, Graystripe pulled some more truth from Longtail's words: they were terrified. To hear them speak, the clans were on the edge of total destruction.

On the third day of this, Graystripe awoke to hear the sound of a storm outside, as well as the warriors saying that they'd had found another cat that they'd connected with him, hunting prey out in the forest. At first, he brushed this off, but then he heard the cat they'd caught being pushed through the cave. "So, can I go home soon? The young cats need me."

Graystripe looked up, his head suddenly clear, to see Blackclaw and Toadstep pushing Ravenpaw towards the other side, where the mud-covered cat stood waiting. "Shut it," Toadstep muttered. "We have a few questions that we want to ask you." As they said this, the mud-covered cat silently flicked his tail towards one of the dens where they questioned their prisoners.

_No! _said a voice in Graystripe's head. _Not him! _Struggling, he forced himself to his feet. "Wait!" he said, struggling to even speak. "Wait! Take me! I'm ready to talk!"

The mud-covered cat glanced at him, then motioned for Blackclaw and Toadstep to put Ravenpaw in another corner of the cave. They obeyed, then turned and pushed Graystripe to his feet. The mud-covered cat came over and gave him support, leading him forward.

Back behind, Blackclaw and Toadstep were left with Onewhisker to guard the prisoners. "What's with this she-cat?" Toadstep asked of Blackclaw. "Does any cat know where she came from?"

"_She-cat?_" Blackclaw asked, turning to him. "I thought that was a tom! Maybe she just likes pretending to be a tom?" Suddenly, he turned to Onewhisker, laughing. "Maybe pretending to be a she-cat is something _you _should try!" he said. "I mean, that mate of yours, Talltail, is dying soon anyways!"

A look of fury crossed Onewhisker's face, and he pushed his way past the two of them as they laughed.

XXXX

The mud-covered cat pushed Graystripe into a dark cave where he assumed they were questioning the prisoners, then turned and left. Looking up, he saw Hoot standing in front of him, with another entrance behind him. "Whatever you do," he growled, "_don't scream._ They enjoy it."

With this, he stepped aside, revealing Willie and Snapper. As Willie advanced with a large grin on his face, Graystripe could see Snapper licking what looked like blood off of her paw. He recoiled, remembering Hoot's warning. Suddenly, another cat entered the cave behind them. "Stop!" he said, and Graystripe realized it was Dustpelt's. "Get out. This one's mine."

Hoot turned to him. "Dustpelt, Fernstar said-"

"She went to deal with a group of Tigerstar's warriors," Dustpelt growled. "And though she may be our leader, last I checked, _I _was the head of this force. Now get out! I'll take it from here." Willie, Snapper, and Hoot reluctantly turned and left the cave.

Alone, Dustpelt advanced on Graystripe. He sighed when he saw how beat up Graystripe still looked, and turned and picked up a nearby plant in his mouth. He forced it into Graystripe's mouth. It tasted bitter, but Graystripe had no choice but to swallow. This done, Dustpelt sat down on the ground in front of him. He pulled some nearby catmint towards him, then turned to face Graystripe. "So this is what it's like," he muttered.

"What did you do to me?" Graystripe asked, the bitter taste of the herb still in his mouth.

Ignoring him, Dustpelt continued. "Watching the clans rot more and more, with your friends and loved ones choking on the reek. I thought we'd seen the worst of it when the clans fell the first time. I watched in horror as the warrior code was swamped, and everything that made us the clans being taken straight to the cutter. But now," Here, he let out a bitter laugh, "we're _devouring_ ourselves."'

"Maybe it wouldn't be that way if you did your job right," Graystripe growled, struggling to get to his feet again. "You're supposed to protect the clans, but you just keep pushing them down! When you do that, you just make them want to rise up-"

He was cut off when Dustpelt pushed down on his shoulder with his paw. "Stay down," he growled. "That herb that I gave you, it can heal almost any injury, but you need to stay calm for a bit after using it, or it's useless. It's not easy to find, either. I barely have any for myself without wasting it on warriors who say they're ready when they're not." After a moment of silence, he continued speaking. "You may not realize it, but you're a lucky cat. Onewhisker was a bit off from his target. If he'd hit any of your vital areas, you'd be with the medicine cats, along with one of my best warriors."

"Talltail," Graystripe guessed. "I know, I was there. I tried to save him."

"None of us are the warriors we used to be," Dustpelt muttered. Looking back up, he said, "Now, stay quiet and listen. I don't know how long we've gotten rid of that mouse dung that calls herself a leader-"

"You're doing this behind Fernstar's back?" Graystripe asked, shocked.

Once again ignoring him, Dustpelt said, "I was just talking with the medicine cats. We sent Scourge's remains to them, to see if we could find out anything else about his death. They found a small hole in what was the back of his throat. Do you know what that means?"

"He was attacked from behind," Graystripe said. He may not be a medicine cat, but he knew that much, at least.

"With sheer force," Dustpelt agreed. "He wasn't killed by his insides being taken out, though I'm sure that didn't help him either." Giving another bitter laugh, he muttered, "Ironic, isn't it? All that talk about force being pointless, and it was brute strength that took him out after all."

"You knew Scourge?" Graystripe asked, shocked.

Dustpelt nodded. "He wasn't clanborn, and a little small, but he carried weight. He was a reasonable cat. He would have stopped a lot of bloodshed. We were... working on a deal."

Something clicked in Graystripe's head. "_You _were the one he was going to meet!"

"We would have met," Dustpelt growled, anger entering his voice, "if it weren't for that raid that covered up his murder. A raid," he added, "that _I _didn't order. Whoever this butcher is, he's smart, cunning, brutal, and _fast. _Even with the raid, they would only have had a few minutes at most to get in, kill him, and get out. That she-cat of yours, she'd be in a good position."

"Millie?" Graystripe asked, disbelieving. "She was with me the whole-" Suddenly, he cut himself off. No, she _hadn't _been with him the whole time. When he'd gone to deal with Fireheart, she'd stayed behind.

Dustpelt leaned forward. "Look, contrary to popular belief, I'm not a mouse-brain. I know you and Fireheart have nothing to do with these killings."

"Then why am I here?"

Dustpelt licked his lips. "We have a cat imprisoned here who claims he knows who the butcher is, but he's refusing to talk to us." Starting to laugh, he said, "Looks like you had it right! Congratulations."

He turned, and beckoned with his tail for Graystripe to follow. Graystripe stood, and followed him through some more tunnels, the storm outside still raging, until they found another cat waiting for them: Cloudtail. "Is this him?" Cloudtail asked.

"Yes," Dustpelt said.

Sighing, Cloudtail said, "I can't imagine why he wants to talk to _you. Don't _waste my time." As Dustpelt turned and left, Cloudtail turned, beckoning down another tunnel, muttering, "I will be here, watching."

Graystripe nervously went down the tunnel. At the end, he entered a cave, with a hole in the ceiling bringing the light from the storm in. He turned to see Cloudtail withdrawing into the shadows. "Wait! Who am I supposed to be meeting with?"

Turning to see, he suddenly withdrew. The cat was inside a small cage, of sorts. The wild face, the all-too-familiar pelt sparked memories that he'd rather not have. He stood back, looking in horror at the cat.

"Hello, Graystripe," Smudge grinned. "It's been so long."

XXXX

Back up above, Dustpelt walked back into the tunnels, where Onewhisker stood, waiting for further orders. As he waited, Nightcloud, followed by the mud-covered cat, walked in. "How's the war with Riverclan going?" Dustpelt asked.

"We've got some news-" Nightcloud started.

"Then hurry up and say it!" Dustpelt asked, glaring at her. Nightcloud recoiled slightly.

"We just got news from the medicine cats," she said, glancing nervously at Onewhisker. "It's Talltail... he's..." There was no need for her to finish the sentence. A look of horror crossed Onewhisker's face.

Suddenly, they heard paws thundering in. Blackclaw and Toadstep ran in, panting. Toadstep spoke first. "We have trouble! There's an incoming hostile!"

"Onewhisker, we need backup!" Blackclaw said, looking at him.

For a moment, Onewhisker was unresponsive. Then, he turned and left the cave, muttering, "I'm off-duty."

Blackclaw and Toadstep glanced at each other, fear in their eyes, then turned and ran back the way they'd come. Dustpelt turned to face the mud-covered cat. "Well," he said, "let's see what all this is about, shall we?"

XXXX

"You sick fox dung!" Graystripe growled.

"Oh, such horrible words!" Smudge said, sounding like a queen telling off a naughty kit. "You'll upset poor Cloudtail!"

"I don't see him," Graystripe growled, glancing around.

"Of course you don't," Smudge said calmly, "but he's always there."

"Why did you ask for me?" Graystripe growled, turning back to him.

"Why, indeed?" Smudge said thoughtfully. "We both know that _I'm _the only one who can lead you to your butcher, and it was Sandstar that entrusted me with the task. Do you really want to leave her as unfulfilled with this job as you did in her den?"

Graystripe felt anger course through him, but he had also suffered from this cat's mind games before. "Talk fast," he growled.

"Of course. I wouldn't want to waste your time. The clues you're looking for were at the beginning the whole time. You just didn't see them. You can't even _imagine _how close you are."

"_You _were the beginning!" Graystripe shouted.

"Come on, Graystripe, we won't get anywhere if you won't let go of the past," Smudge said, grinning.

XXXX

Back up above, in the main room, Ravenpaw nervously paced around his side of the den. Finally, he turned to Millie. "If you could be anywhere else right now," he said, clearly just wanting to break the uneasy silence, aside from the storm raging outside, "where would you be?"

"I don't know," Millie admitted. "Everywhere's rotten."

"What about back home?" Ravenpaw suggested.

"I don't have much home to go back to," Millie said. Glancing at Berrynose, she added, "I guess Brambleclaw would know that feeling." Turning back to Ravenpaw, she added, "But we have to be strong. We can't give up, no matter what, do you hear me?"

As Ravenpaw turned and nodded, Blackclaw and Toadstep ran through, shouting, "There's a hostile force coming in! We need all our warriors!" All the warriors turned and followed them out.

Millie turned to Ravenpaw. "This is our chance!" To all the prisoners, she called, "Wake up! It's time to go!"

As she spoke, there was a flash of lightning, and the smell of smoke entered the room. Millie and Ravenpaw's eyes met, fear in both faces. _Fire! _"Go! Move!" Millie shouted urgently.

XXXX

"Consider this," Smudge continued. "To find a killer, you must understand why they kill. What do these killings tell us about the butcher?"

"They can cut out a cat's insides," Graystripe said, pacing. "And they can do it fast. They had Scourge's out within two or three minutes at the most. It was on his own territory, but they still got away. They would have to be good with their claws, too, to be able to-"

"You're not listening!" Smudge interrupted. "Whoever the butcher is, he leaves their insides behind. Why?"

"If you know who it is, just tell me!" Graystripe shouted, frustrated. "This cat has Sandstar, we don't have time to waste!"

"Oh, that reminds me of when I killed your old she-cat- Silverstream, was it? I cut off her pelt, and wore it through the clans-"

"You fox dung!" Graystripe shouted, turning to the cage. "I will rip off-"

"Silence!" came Cloudtail's voice. "He's trying to trick you, make you careless. Step away from the cage."

Graystripe stepped back. For the first time, a look of annoyance flashed across Smudge's face, but it was gone so fast that Graystripe wasn't sure. "Cloudtail's come to understand me very well," he sighed. "We learn a lot from those we watch. I've heard it said that we even take on a bit of their personality..."

"If you know who it is, tell me!" Graystripe shouted.

"Of course. I will send you to your butcher, on one condition: it's said that shame is a powerful emotion. With a friend like Fireheart, you're surely no stranger to humiliation. So, tell me, Graystripe, when you lost Silverstream, and turned to Sandstar, did you really want her, or did you simply want someone to empty your shame and guilt into? Could you climb out of Sandstar's den without hearing the final cries of Silverstream? Tell me: when they find Sandstar's dead body, how many more she-cats will you go through before-"

"Stop it!" Graystripe shouted. "Stop it!"

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning cracked overhead, and the smell of smoke entered his nostrils. He looked around, panicking slightly, and when he turned back to Smudge's cage, he felt a bolt of horror hit him when he saw that Smudge had disappeared. There was another flash of lightning, and when Graystripe turned again, he saw Smudge standing in front of his cage, free. Horror filled him as Smudge, grinning, advanced slowly.

Suddenly, Cloudtail bounded out of the shadows. "Get out!" he growled. "This is _my _battle!"

Graystripe turned and fled. Cloudtail turned on Smudge. "Alone at last," he growled.

"It's about time," Smudge agreed, stepping forward, his claws unsheathed.

XXXX

Graystripe ran up through the tunnels. The smell of the fire drew nearer, but up was the only way out. In one tunnel, he met Ravenpaw, Berrynose, and Millie. "Graystripe!" Ravenpaw said happily.

"We have to go!" Millie said. The four of them turned and ran.

Entering the cave just before the exit, they heard a wild laughing. Inside, they saw Dustpelt and the mud-covered cat standing there, with fire licking the edges of the cave. Also in the center was Fireheart, on top of Midnight, with Midnight looking around at them, occasionally jumping forward with a blunt paw. "Fireheart, we have to go!" Graystripe shouted to him.

"Can you believe this place?" Fireheart asked, turning to see them. "Half the warriors went running when they heard I was coming! I guess that's what you get when you put _Dustpelt _in charge of a force like this!" After a quick moment, he added, "Oh, you were right, by the way! This goes _deep! _That cat-" here, he jumped down and rammed the mud-covered cat out of the cave, where rain was pouring down, and the mud began to wash away, "-is Fernstar!"

The group turned to see the cat bounding back in, but enough had been washed away to confirm Fireheart's words. "Guess there's no need to keep up the facade, is there?" Dustpelt muttered dryly.

"We can shut them down with this!" Graystripe urgently shouted to his friend.

"Oh, we'll shut them down, alright!" Fireheart shouted. "Sorry it took me so long, but you know me! If I can't do it myself, I'll raise an army! _Attack!"_

With this last word, the cave was suddenly flooded with other cats. Graystripe couldn't tell who most of them were, but they were clearly Fireheart's 'army.' Fireheart wildly laughed as several of Dustpelt's warriors were attacked. A few cats, Graystripe did recognize: Ashfoot, for one, as well as Weaselfur and a cat he recognized as Mistyfoot, of Riverclan. "You have to go!" Fireheart shouted at Graystripe, Millie, Berrynose, and Ravenpaw. When they hesitated, he shouted, "Go! I'll take care of things back here!"

They bounded away, and Fernstar, still covered with mud in some places, bounded after them. Fireheart turned to see another cat running away. "Spottedleaf!" he called after her.

"No, Fireheart!" she said, looking at him with anger in her eyes. "We're done!" With this, she turned and continued her flight.

Fireheart turned to see Blackpelt running behind Dustpelt. "You picked a bad time to fight with me, you fox dung!" he shouted, jumping forward with his claws out.

"Bring it, _kittypet!_" Dustpelt sneered. The two lunged at each other.

XXXX

Graystripe, Millie, and Ravenpaw finally found the way out of the caves, only to find Berrynose being forced back by Blackclaw and Toadstep. "Surrender!" Toadstep said, his voice trembling. "We'll use whatever force is necessary!"

Anger filled Berrynose's face: these were the cats who'd 'questioned' him. He jumped at Blackclaw, who sliced a claw across his face, sending him backwards.

"Let them go!" shouted another voice. They all turned to see another cat stalking across the territory towards them. "The frightened reach out, begging for help, and you push them aside," the new arrival growled. As he stepped out of the dark, they recognized him as Brambleclaw. "The weak cry for mercy, and you raise your claws against them," he continued, growling as he drew closer. Blackclaw and Toadstep stepped away from the others, drawing nearer to each other, while the others stepped as far away as they could. "Now the clans are rising up to repay the favor," Brambleclaw continued. "I had mercy for you before, but only one claw can touch Berrynose's face." Suddenly, Brambleclaw leapt forward, his claws slicing outwards, as Blackclaw and Toadstep let out loud, high-pitched screams.

Within the next second, both lay limp on the ground.

Graystripe, Millie, and Ravenpaw looked at the scene with their mouths open.

Berrynose bounded forward, rubbing up to their savior. "Brambleclaw!" he said happily.

"Quiet, there's no time," Brambleclaw said. "Follow me!" As the other four turned and ran, Brambleclaw stepped in front of Graystripe. "Fireheart was looking for you. He must have gotten lost, but he said to get you back home safely."

"We can't!" Graystripe said. "Dustpelt's force-"

"They're finished!" Brambleclaw said. "Run!"

As Graystripe followed Brambleclaw, running as fast as they could, he realized that Brambleclaw was right: the clans didn't have any noble leaders anymore, and Dustpelt's force, whatever else they did, had kept some resemblance of law on the territory, but that was gone too. All the clans had anymore was the corrupt leaders, the butcher, and them.

_XXXX_

And another chapter ends. Please R&R, constructive criticism is welcome, flames aren't, Gamer4 out.


	8. Blackest Night

Gamer4 in. Still nothing to say.

Disclaimer: Really? _Really?_

Chapter VIII

Blackest Night

_A group of warriors stood in a circle: Graystripe, Dustpelt, Sandstorm, Nightcloud, and Bluestar, leader of Thunderclan. Fireheart was restlessly pacing around them. They were meeting to discuss a threat to the clans: a murderer that the clans called the Cannibal. For a moon, cats had been turning up dead, with the Cannibal eluding capture. "There has to be a pattern!" Graystripe was insisting._

"_There's not!" Dustpelt said, yet again. "If you want to find one, be my guest! We've checked everything: the victim's history, the areas they were found, or disappeared, but there's _nothing!_"_

"_It could be anyone," Sandstorm, the current deputy, said._

"_It's Tigerclaw!" Fireheart growled. "It's _always _Tigerclaw! I don't understand why you had to put Dustpelt at the head of this force, trying to unite the clans' strongest warriors against the Cannibal, when the answer's so obvious!"_

"_I have every reason to be here!" Dustpelt objected. "The Cannibal hit all the clans!"_

"_We're here to try and find out who the Cannibal is!" Sandstorm said, raising her voice a bit. "There's got to be something we're missing. Does anyone know anything else?"_

_Dustpelt spoke up. "We've heard that there's some crazy warrior after the Cannibal on his own. Our reports say his name is Cloudtail."_

"_We'll have to try and find him, convince him to cooperate," Bluestar decided. Fireheart let out a disdainful laugh, which Bluestar ignored. "Do we know if Tigerclaw is trying to take advantage of this situation?"_

_Nightcloud snorted. "We don't have much information about Tigerclaw. This force is too busy trying to take all of the Clans' rights away." Dustpelt flicked his tail across her mouth to shut her up, but the damage had been done._

"_So _that's _what all these riots are about," Graystripe said, turning on Dustpelt. _

"_I don't believe it!" Bluestar said, suddenly angry. "The warriors of the clans aren't scared so easily!"_

"_The warriors of these clans are _terrified,_" Dustpelt said. "We can only hope that they don't make Tigerclaw, or cats like him, leader out of fear!"_

"_Maybe we should set a trap," Graystripe suggested._

"_And what or who would you want to be the bait?" Dustpelt asked._

"_And we've already gotten too comfortable with the other clans as it is!" Bluestar growled. "We're already mixed up enough without-"_

"_This is about the safety of the clans!" Sandstar interrupted, sounding furious. "It shouldn't matter if we have to team up with the other clans a bit more, as long as we catch-"_

"_Enough!" Fireheart shouted. "I won't let these clans fall! No one will take this territory from me!"_

"_The thing is," Dustpelt growled at him, "this territory isn't yours anymore."_

"_Why don't you keep fighting amongst yourselves, that will solve everything!" Fireheart growled. "I'll be on patrol! And _you_-"_ _here, he turned on Graystripe, but was silent for a brief moment. Finally, he said, "Take care of her," flicking his tail at Sandstorm. Graystripe gave a nod, and Fireheart turned, stalking away._

XXXX

"_The next day, Bluestar turned up dead," Fireheart said, speaking to Midnight. They were preparing themselves for the attack on Dustpelt's camp, where Graystripe had been taken. Though Midnight could speak the tongue of cats, she was often quiet, but made a good listener. In one last moment of relaxation before the plunge, they were sitting near Thunderclan camp, Fireheart chewing catmint as he told this story to Midnight. "With Bluestar dead, Sandstorm became the leader, and she gave us the order to use Graystripe's plan. We caught Smudge, but the damage was done. The clans had changed. The new times, they scared us all. The decay spread through all the territory, even into all the cats around this lake, and we knew that these weren't the clans anymore." As he continued speaking, he gently patted Midnight's head with his paw. "We were all shadows of what we'd been. I think I knew, even then, that I wouldn't be able to save us. Graystripe was able to change to meet the new times, without losing himself, but all I knew how to do was patrol, going around the clans, intimidating, and tearing things down."_

XXXX

Fireheart pulled himself out of his memories just in time to dodge another swing from Dustpelt. They were both bloodied. Jumping out of the way of yet another slice of Dustpelt's claws, Fireheart jumped forward, raking his claws down Dustpelt's sides. The next moment, they were apart again. They were surrounded by Fireheart's army. The fire had long since died, extinguished by the rain, but the two were still struggling. "You used to be quicker," Fireheart taunted.

He lunged forward, only for Dustpelt to duck down and plunge his claws into Fireheart's stomach as he passed overhead. When they next turned to look at each other, Dustpelt retorted, "So did you."

After some more struggling, they were apart again, and Dustpelt spoke. "It's too bad you can't use this aggression to _help _the clans, instead of pulling it further and further into chaos."

Fireheart growled, lunging and pinning Dustpelt to the ground. "Don't tell me about chaos!" he shouted. "Sandstar- _my _she-cat- is the only reason the clans didn't completely collapse a long time ago!"

Dustpelt managed to push him off, and they were once again on opposite sides of the clearing. They were about to lunge at each other again, when Hoot and Fernstar suddenly ran in, creating a distraction. Fernstar glared at Dustpelt, still with bits of mud in her fur. "You haven't finished him yet?" she asked in exasperation.

"I was getting ready," Dustpelt growled. "There's nothing like a little skirmish to get the blood pumping, isn't that right, Fireheart?"

"Well, while you've been messing around with him, your _deputy _has been snooping around!" Fernstar glared at him, pushing Hoot forward.

"I wasn't stealing any-" Hoot started, when he was distracted by something. "That's _my _badger!"

Turning to look, they saw Midnight, in the middle of a struggle with Willie and Snapper. Laughing, Fireheart said, "I guess she knew who the _real _warrior around here was, didn't she?" Hoot let out an irritated growl, but Fireheart continued. "What did you find out?"

"The force is scattered," Hoot growled. "Most of them are dead. Onewhisker and Cloudtail are missing."

"Cloudtail?" Dustpelt repeated. "What about Smudge?"

"_Smudge?_" Fireheart repeated.

"He's dead," Hoot said, suddenly grinning. "He died in the fire. All that's left of him is his black corpse." He let out a laugh.

"I won't take _your _word for it!" Fireheart growled.

"Well, you can check for yourself," Hoot laughed. "I mean, I'm not a medicine cat, but-"

"If Smudge is dead," Dustpelt interrupted, "then Cloudtail will be gone, too. He only joined our force so he could watch Smudge in the asylum. So I guess this is it. We're the last remains of hope in this world, and the clans are on the brink-"

"Yeah, we might as well finish it now," Fireheart growled, unsheathing his claws.

Dustpelt was getting ready to continue the fight, but Fernstar interrupted. "No! We can take refuge on the island!"

"The island!" Hoot asked, suddenly sounding afraid. "No, no, no, no, _nobody _goes to the island anymore!"

"You made me leader!" Fernstar said, turning towards Dustpelt. "We rule the clans together!"

Fireheart moved towards Dustpelt. "If you really make her lead all of us, you'll have to answer to every cat in the clans!"

Dustpelt sliced a claw across Fireheart's face. "I guess we both have she-cats worth fighting for! You want to do right by Sandstar? Get your army, get ready to take the clans back-"

He was cut off when Fireheart sliced a claw of his own across his face. Dustpelt turned towards him, claws unsheathed, but Fernstar stepped between them. "Dustpelt!" she growled.

Still addressing Fireheart, Dustpelt growled, "_We _were the last force keeping Tigerstar and his warriors from dominating everything! If you want to be able to challenge Tigerstar, there's word going around that there's some mouse-brain in Skyclan raising his own army. That's Hawkstar's old territory, where everything started falling apart."

Fireheart growled, flicking his tail at Fernstar. "That mouse dung will be your death."

Dustpelt ignored him as Fernstar turned, beckoning for him to follow. With this, Hoot, Fernstar, and Dustpelt were all gone.

Fireheart turned to all of his army. "Get out of here!" he ordered. "Go back to your territory, and gather your friends! They want a war. We'll give them one."

As they all turned to leave, Fireheart turned back towards the tunnels. Weaselfur brushed his tail against Fireheart. "Where are you going?" he asked curiously.

"I've got one more thing to check on," Fireheart said. Looking around, he called out, "Midnight!" For a moment, there was silence. "Midnight!" More silence. Fireheart glanced at Weaselfur. "She'll find her way back," he said, turning back to the tunnels.

XXXX

A few minutes later, Fireheart arrived in front of Smudge's dead body. It was shriveled and blackened, with a few random bits of white fur sticking out. But even after seeing it with his own eyes, he knew that Smudge would never be truly gone. There were some monsters that looked dead sometimes, and other times, they didn't. Even with Smudge dead, his legacy would live on forever.

This is something he reflected on as he traveled to Skyclan. As he went through the territory, he was almost knocked down by a cat who was running past: a brown and white tabby with wild fur. Fireheart knocked him to the side. "This place has always been famous with cats like you," he growled. "Where is everyone?"

The cat's eyes flicked nervously around. "The end is coming!" he said, pulling himself free and continuing to run.

"Well, what do we have here?" came another voice. Fireheart turned to see Billystorm and Leafdapple sitting together by a tree. "I feel like I should give you a fair warning," Billystorm said. "Get a good place to hide."

"I don't hide," Fireheart growled.

"Maybe you're crazy," Leafdapple said. "There's plenty to be afraid of out here."

"She speaks the truth," Billystorm said.

"I heard there's someone out here, building an army," Fireheart growled.

"Not an army, not really," Billystorm said.

"More like a cult," Leafdapple put in.

"Yeah," Billystorm said. "He's a cat named Darkstripe, but every cat calls him the End of Days. He's making prey out of weak mouse-brains. Some cats are so scared, they turn to him, who they fear most. They're afraid of Dustpelt's force, afraid of the Cannibal, and they were afraid of Hawkstar until the butcher killed him. They're afraid of the butcher, too: they call him the Cannibal's apprentice. They seem to be afraid of everything."

"They don't need to be afraid of the Cannibal anymore," Fireheart said.

As he turned to go, Leafdapple spoke again. "You know, Billystorm, this cat looks... familiar, somehow."

"Oh, yeah, I see it!" Billystorm said, looking at him. "He's from Thunderclan, too." Fireheart suddenly turned to look at them. "Your pelt is ginger. There was a gray cat here, not long ago, a few days, at the most."

The two stood, moving forward. "There were three of us then," Leafdapple said. "Now there are only two."

"Sharpclaw was a greedy mouse-brain," Billystorm said, looking like he was trying to convince himself as much as Fireheart. "Three was too many, so there are no hard feelings about that. Still, maybe you want to buy-"

He was cut off when Fireheart lunged forward, pinning him to the ground. "Really, I always preferred _one,_" he growled in Billystorm's face. "And yet here I am, retracing Graystripe's pawsteps. I'm here to build an army, and you're going to take me to that mouse-brain!" With this, he released Billystorm, and shoved the two of them in front of him. They stepped back from him, and turned, leading him further into Skyclan territory.

XXXX

Deep within Skyclan territory, there was a large group of elders and other warriors gathered around a small clearing. Inside was Darkstripe, the End of Days, pacing around as he spoke. Nearby were the three balls from his den, as well as the large ball of glowing moss, and the cat-shaped rock. In front of the rock was the moonstone fragment. "It is true, my friends," Darkstripe said as he walked around, "the end is approaching. Your fear is the blood of this end. The clans are crumbling. You've all seen it burn! The end lays in the claws of the oldest creatures, the warriors of the blackest night. They wait on the island to bring the end! We must appease these creatures, buy our ascension with blood! Come! We must have sacrifice!"

At the back of the crowd, Fireheart suddenly appeared, pushing through, led by Billystorm and Leafdapple. Suddenly, Darkstripe stopped. "There! I can sense one longing to welcome the end of days!" He looked through the crowd, and his eyes fell on Leafdapple. He beckoned to her with his tail. "Come, my sister."

Leafdapple began walking up to him, as if in a trance. Billystorm spoke. "No, Leafdapple! This is madness!"

"Come, Leafdapple," Darkstripe said, "and finish our agreement with the gods, before whom even Starclan cowers!"

Looking at the ball of moss, and the cat-shaped rock, Leafdapple stumbled forward, with Billystorm struggling to pull her back. "I can hear them, Billystorm," she said.

"There are no creatures!" Billystorm insisted. "No gods! Just this crazy fox dung!"

"Oh, they're there, all right," Patchfoot interrupted. "They're always watching us. They get into your head!"

"Blood begets blood!" Darkstripe said. "Blood begets blood!" This time, several of the others joined in. "Blood begets blood! Blood begets blood!"

Leafdapple stumbled forward as the crowd took up the cry, screaming it to Starclan. "Yes!" Darkstripe said. "Step forward, and receive the blessing of Mapleshade, the great goddess!"

"More like Crazyshade!" Billystorm spat. "Leafdapple, stop!"

Still ignoring him, Leafdapple stepped forward, until she was right in front of the cat-shaped rock. For a moment, she gazed into its bulging, ugly eyes, when suddenly, though the sky had been clear up to that point, a bolt of lightning came down and struck Leafdapple. She flew backwards, and landed in front of Billystorm, dead. Darkstripe let out a great laugh.

"No!" Billystorm cried, bending down over her. Darkstripe picked up one of his balls: it began to glow, and Darkstripe took it back, putting it with the other three.

"Yes," Darkstripe said. "The blackest night will receive their nourishment through our sacrifice, and awaken!"

A new chant began to spread through the cats. "Save us! Save us! Save us! Save us!"

Grinning, Darkstripe began moving towards Leafdapple. "We will all be rewarded for our sacrifices."

Billystorm, seeing him coming, stood in front of Leafdapple's body, his lips drawn back and his claws unsheathed. "Stay back!" he growled. "You won't touch her!"

"Salvation through blood!" Patchfoot shouted. Billystorm quickly looked at him, and pointed another claw towards the crowd.

Suddenly, Fireheart pushed to the front. "What's going on here?" he shouted. "What are all you fox dung doing?"

Darkstripe looked and grinned when he saw Fireheart. "Yes. Yes! What blood better suited to please the god, and the blackest night, then the clans' great hero!"

The crowd let out excited shouts, pushing Fireheart forward. Darkstripe turned towards him, advancing with his claws unsheathed. "My claws," he said as he advanced, "have received blessing. They are coated with both venom and fire, from the plants of the oldest times. To feel this sting is to lie, unable to move, as fire cleanses you from within! It is your blood, and one other's, that will deliver us into our paradise!"

The crowd was chanting once again. "Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood!" Darkstripe was advancing closer and closer to Fireheart, his claws eagerly kneading the ground. Fireheart looked around, almost panicked, for a moment, and then he reached out and swiped his claws across Darkstripe's face. Darkstripe fell backwards, against the tree where he'd kept his three balls.

For a moment, all was silent, as Darkstripe reached up, feeling blood oozing from his face. The crowd seemed thunderstruck. Their great leader? Hurt? Then, some of the blood dripped down onto his two remaining balls, and they began to glow. "Yes!" Darkstripe said suddenly, laughing as he stood. "Yes! The sacrifice is _mine!_" Laughing wildly, he picked up one of the balls in his teeth, and ran from the clearing.

Ignoring the other two, Fireheart stood in front of the crowd. It was _his _turn to speak now. The crowd were looking at each other, as if they had just realized the madness they'd been following. "Darkstripe was right," Fireheart growled. "You're all scared." Here, he turned and knocked over the stone cat. "You all remember the Cannibal, and the fear he brought with him! Well, listen to me now! He is dead! Smudge is dead! I saw it for myself! His white pelt is blackened, and his pelt is melted to his bone! _The Cannibal is dead! _It's time for us to take our clans back from him!" As he continued, the crowd seemed to regain some of its vigor. There were some nods, and they began to stand. "That island hides no gods, or creatures of blackest night! It holds only cats like you and me, who are too afraid to face us! Tonight, we will rise against them, march across this territory, and take back _our _clans!"

There were several cheers, and Fireheart knew that they would follow him. They were shouting in ecstasy. As they cheered, Billystorm slowly walked up to Fireheart. "First, I will bury my dead," he said, motioning with his tail to Leafdapple. "Then, I will get these warriors together. It's time we stopped cowering in the shadows. We will fight with you."

Fireheart nodded his agreement. "There's been some good talking tonight," he said. "Unfortunately, I think Darkstripe got his sacrifice from me anyways." He glanced down at one of the many cuts that he'd received during his fight with Dustpelt. "Maybe I haven't changed that much after all." He turned, and started home, and Billystorm turned toward Leafdapple.

XXXX

"_Ever since the Cannibal and his Attack," Fireheart said to Midnight, "everything's come down to violence. Maybe I'm more bad than good." Letting out a bitter laugh, he added, "Just ask Spottedleaf. Maybe I'll ruin the clans even more while I'm trying to save them. But if this is all I have to give, then I'm sure as fox dung going to give it, until either Tigerstar's dead, or _I _am." He took another bite into his catmint. "But maybe this is enough remembering," he said. "At least you've got my back, right, Midnight?" Midnight gave a nod of agreement, rubbing up to him. "Come on, let's get moving," Fireheart said, standing up. "Dustpelt has Graystripe, and we can't let that pass."_

XXXX

Finally, Fireheart pushed his way into Thunderclan camp. There was no one there at all that night, so he was able to walk across the camp uninterrupted. He headed to the medicine den, and reached down for some more catmint. Just as he was about to bite down on it, an image of Sandstar flashed across his mind: Sandstar before the Attack, back when the clans had been great. She was laughing, without a care in the world, aside from the usual worries of being in a clan. He looked down at the catmint, and pushed it away. "I'm coming for you," he promised, heading back into the main camp.

Suddenly, he felt like he was being watched. He spun around, and thought he saw a flash of fur, but he couldn't be sure. Dismissing it, he turned and headed into his den.

If he'd turned faster, he would have seen Willie and Snapper making a quick escape.

In his den, Fireheart curled up in his nest: one last bit of relaxation before the final battle. Suddenly, an inexplicable feeling of dread welled up in him. There was a nasty stench in his nostrils, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right in the den. Looking at the floor, he saw a bit of blood there. Sitting up, he looked across for the source of the blood, and felt a bolt of horror course through him. "No!" he shouted, as though to Starclan themselves. "NOOOO!"

Lying across the den from him, bloody, mangled, and very clearly dead, was Midnight.

_XXXX_

I feel like I should say something here, but I don't have anything to say. Please R&R, constructive criticism welcome, flames aren't, Gamer4 out.


	9. Debts

Gamer4 in. A few things to say here: first, if you couldn't tell from last chapter, we're starting to get into the supernatural elements I was talking about a few chapters ago. Also, this story is almost over. Yeah, already. The next chapter is last. Also, because I can't say it at the end, yes, that song _is _based of the Pokemon theme. Let's move along.

Disclaimer: We're nine chapters in, do you really need me to tell you?

Chapter IX

Debts

As Graystripe, Millie, Berrynose, Ravenpaw, and Brambleclaw ran across the clans, the claustrophobia they'd felt in the prison began to leave them. As they ran, Brambleclaw gave them news of what had happened since they'd been imprisoned. When they got onto Riverclan territory, fairly far away from Dustpelt's prison, they began to walk. "Tigerstar's warriors and Dustpelt's are killing each other off," Brambleclaw was saying. "Fireheart's attack on Dustpelt ruined his force, and with that gone, Tigerstar's ready to claim everything."

"You were involved in that too," Graystripe pointed out.

"Yeah," Brambleclaw agreed. "I was about to lead an attack of my own, when I ran into Fireheart. He was talking to a badger. We had the same idea, so we teamed up."

Suddenly, Millie spoke up. "If you did that, you might have just put us right in-"

"Right in Tigerstar's paws," Brambleclaw finished, turning to face her. "Listen, Millie, someone took Berrynose, and they had Graystripe too. We both had reasons to go in there, and it didn't matter who they were: they had a storm coming."

"Dustpelt's force can't be helped," Graystripe pointed out. "Besides, there's more to it than that."

"What do you mean?" Millie asked.

Graystripe sighed. "Smudge escaped. He took advantage of the fire to get out. Cloudtail got between the two of us, but we can't be too careful. We have to be ready to fight Smudge, Tigerstar, _and _Brokenstar-"

"_Brokenstar?_" Brambleclaw scoffed. "He's _Shadow_clan's leader for a reason. He's no threat to us."

"He tricked me into working for him," Graystripe objected. "Who knows who else he's tricked? Fireheart, Dustpelt's force, or even Tigerstar-"

"No one can trick Tigerstar," Brambleclaw interrupted. "Especially _that _fox-hearted leader. You're afraid of a mouse, Graystripe."

"Brambleclaw!" said another voice, out of the darkness, and they turned to find the source. "You wound me!" Seeing the speaker, it was none other than Brokenstar. He was sitting, with some fresh-kill at his side. As he spoke, he gave it a few bites. "I'm here, right from the front lines of this war, and I still have Riverclan slime on me. And how do you greet me? With insults. I'm disappointed." Grinning at the inexplicable look of rage on Brambleclaw's face, he flicked his ears at the fresh-kill. "I hope you don't mind," he said, taking another bite.

"You're not welcome on this territory!" Brambleclaw snarled.

Brokenstar's smile faltered. "I'm afraid even the great Brambleclaw can't tell Brokenstar where he can or can't go!" he growled.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Graystripe. "You!" he said, turning to Brambleclaw. "It was _you _who told Brokenstar where I was, when we first met!"

"Don't make accusations if you want to keep your claws," Brambleclaw growled. "Brokenstar got you to work for him too, or that's what I hear."

"_You _were the spy this whole time!" Millie suddenly said, turning on Berrynose. "On Scourge, on-"

"_I _sent him to report on Scourge's part in the war!" Brambleclaw interrupted.

"I figured it out!" Berrynose said.

Brokenstar stood, laughing. "Yeah, that's the truth," he said. "You see, Graystripe, Brambleclaw and I are more alike than you'd think."

Brambleclaw turned back to him, furious. "You use the good and innocent to tear the clans down from the shadows!" Glancing at the others, he said, "It's true that I have a bit of hunger, but I am nothing like you!" As he finished this, he turned back on Brokenstar.

Still wearing the grin, Brokenstar allowed his gaze to wander over them. "It's a bad day when you can't trust your own allies, isn't it, Millie?"

Suddenly, everyone turned to Millie. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

Remembering Dustpelt's words, and deciding to get right to the point, Graystripe asked, "Where were you when Scourge died?"

"I... I..." Millie stammered. "I... I was hanging back to listen in! I wanted to hear the meeting, it sounded like Scourge was about to get a major advantage, but I couldn't, with all of Scourge's warriors there, and then Dustpelt's force-"

"You didn't put up much of a fight in the tunnels either!" Berrynose interrupted. "Maybe you were _trying _to get us captured!"

"Did you expect me to take on all of those warriors at once?" Millie asked, exasperated. "Graystripe was already down, so I let them take me, waiting for-"

"How does it feel to hear your loved ones lying to your face?" Brokenstar interrupted, glancing at Graystripe.

"Graystripe, don't listen to him!" Ravenpaw said desperately.

"Or maybe you listen to the empty words of that she-cat who sleeps with every tom she sees, and that confused cat who never earned his warrior name," Brokenstar sneered. Turning on Ravenpaw, he said, "_You _spent a lot of time with Hawkstar, didn't you? You would have been in the right place to-"

"SILENCE!" Brambleclaw shouted. "I've had enough of your words! They're nothing but poison!" He unsheathed his claws, and drew back his lips, showing his teeth.

"You want to be careful, Brambleclaw," Brokenstar said. As he spoke, he unsheathed his own claws. "It's been a while since I've killed, but don't think I've forgotten how."

Suddenly, Ravenpaw jumped in front of Brambleclaw, facing Brokenstar. His face was clearly terrified, and he looked like he'd rather be anywhere else at that moment, but he spoke directly to Brokenstar himself: "Get... Get out of the clans!"

Brokenstar stepped back a bit. Joining in, Graystripe said, "You can't take on all of us."

Looking at all of them, Brokenstar sheathed his claws again, laughing. "You're getting good at pretending to be heroes," he said, his grin shifting to a grimace. "Five strong cats against one wounded."

"Looks like the great leader of Shadowclan's gone soft," Berrynose jeered.

A look of fury temporarily filled Brokenstar's face, and Berrynose recoiled into the shadows. The next moment, however, his the grimace became a grin. "You have to make a choice," he said. "It's either me or Tigerstar." His grin widened as Graystripe stepped forward. "That's right," he said, "Tigerstar's making his final move. If you kill him, this can all be over tonight."

"Can you lead us to him?" Graystripe asked.

"Well, I told you right from the beginning: he's a hard cat to find. With this war on, he'll be wary about large groups. Only one or two cats would be able to sneak up on him, and if they don't sneak, they'll be dead before they see him face to face. I can lead you, but if you go, you go alone."

"Don't trust him," Millie warned.

"It's your choice," Brokenstar said. "I'm not even sure I know the right place. Darkstripe was looking for more things to put in that pack-rat nest of his, and he happened upon Tigerstar's camp. Whether he told me the right place, I can't be sure. But, you know what they say: sometimes the end was in the beginning the whole time."

Suddenly, Smudge's words rang in Graystripe's ears. _The clues you're looking for were in the beginning the whole time. You just didn't see them._

"Be careful, Graystripe," Brambleclaw warned.

"Sandstar told me that, as long as we can hear one kit's laughter, we must fight for them, no matter what the cost," Graystripe said. "I _have _to go. I'm sorry for dragging you all into this."

"You want peace," Brokenstar put in. "You want Sandstar. Tigerstar has insulted me by attacking me. For that, _I _want to cut out his heart. If you do this for me, when we reach the end, you'll be in with the leader." After a moment of hesitation, he added, "I'll leave you alone, so you can say your goodbyes." He turned and stalked off a bit.

Graystripe turned to his friends. "I'm going," he said, his mind made up. Turning to Brambleclaw, he said, "Can you hold up everything here, get some reinforcements?"

Brambleclaw shook his head. "No. Sorry, Graystripe, but no. Berrynose and I are getting ready: we're leaving tonight."

"You're leaving?" Graytripe asked, bewildered. "_Now?_"

"Hold your judgements," Brambleclaw said. "This war, all this darkness, it's not our place. Anyone who wants to come with us is welcome."

"No!" Ravenpaw said, looking around. "We have to hold our ground! We have to protect the lake! You should stay too!"

Brambleclaw glanced mournfully at him. "I wish I was your kind of hero," he said, "but I'm not." With that, both he and Berrynose turned and were gone.

Graystripe looked to Ravenpaw, who was looking downcast. "Ravenpaw..." he said, not sure what to say.

"I can take him home," Millie assured him. "His territory has to be the safest place around now."

Ravenpaw gave a smile. Looking at Graystripe, he said, "Don't worry about me, Graystripe. Millie is a good she-cat. Good luck with Tigerstar."

Graystripe looked back. It was only now that he realized how much Ravenpaw meant to him, one of the last pure warriors left: aside from those Skyclan apprentices and Sandstar, one of the greatest reasons he kept fighting. "You're very trusting," he said. "I respect you for it, but don't let it ruin you."

Millie and Ravenpaw turned and left. As he watched them go, Graystripe realized that he had no idea how this would turn out. All he knew was that if he didn't keep moving, the world would collapse beneath monsters and insanity. He turned to Brokenstar. "I'm ready," he said.

XXXX

Brokenstar let him off with the Riverclan camp in sight. The camp that was the hardest to find: it moved so often. Brokenstar grinned as he silently withdrew into the shadows, leaving Graystripe to run forward. This was Tigerstar's territory: the cat he'd been searching for for so long.

XXXX

Dustpelt stood in his territory, remembering. Images came to his mind of the clans' old greatness, and how all the warriors, even himself had been, back then. As he mused, Fernstar and Hoot entered. "It's done, we're leaving," Fernstar announced.

"Fernstar, do you remember Dustpaw?" Dustpelt wondered out loud. "One of the last apprentices before the clans fell apart. Do you think he imagined a day, back then, when he employed rogues and their insane bodyguards? Imagining watching the clans fall under his charge _twice,_ while the she-cat he loves makes plans behind his back? Now what's left for him? To make the leader of all the clans an insane mud-wearing mouse-brain?"

Hoot gave a snort, but quickly cut himself off when Fernstar turned to him. "Um, I have a brother who needs to be taken care of, so I'm going to go-"

"Even Willie and Snapper are more useful than you!" Fernstar growled. "I have them on a job right now! Do you want to end up like that badger?"

"Look, look, _look!_" Hoot objected. "I told you where you could find Fireheart, there's only one other cat I could point you to-"

He was cut off when Fernstar dropped a plant in front of him. Recognizing it, he looked back up at her, exasperated. "Send it!" she ordered. Hoot delicately picked up the plant in his mouth and walked away. Fernstar turned back to Dustpelt. "Come with me," she said. "We'll go to the island and rule the clans together!"

For a moment, Dustpelt looked at her. Finally, he said, "Well, excuse me, Fern_star,_" he growled, "but I've heard that elder's story before. What you've done, what you're _doing_- it's too much. You're not the cat I loved anymore." After a bit more silence, he asked, "Who are you working with?"

Fury filled Fernstar's eyes. "Maybe if you were still a true warrior, I wouldn't need a stronger cat!" she growled, turning and stalking away.

Dustpelt watched her leave. "True warriors, rogues," he muttered, turning to his catmint. "We're all going to the same place."

XXXX

Graystripe ran across the territory, heading to the camp. _Tigerstar's _camp. Tigerstar. Ruthless, cunning, and relentless. Even in the great days of the clans, he'd been used as a story to scare young kits into behaving, and his name itself was feared. As he saw the remains of his clan, covered in blood, he knew the end was drawing nearer.

Almost every warrior he found was dead, and he knew by their scent that they were Riverclan. He found one living warrior in the camp, holding on by just a bit. "What happened?" he asked him urgently. When he was unresponsive, he spoke louder. "Tell me what happened!"

The warrior was startled awake. "We were... attacked. Our warriors were out, they found us... choking... Tigerstar... is by... the river..." With this, he choked a few more times, and collapsed, dead.

Graystripe turned, bounding out of the camp. He ran for the river. Just ahead of him, his heart gave a jolt when he saw, standing next to the water, looking into its surface, a large dark brown tabby, with broad shoulders, and powerful muscles. Tigerstar. He slowed down as he drew nearer. Tigerstar gave a grunt and a flick of his ears as he heard Graystripe approach. "Well," he said, in a quiet growl, "isn't this fitting? It's just too bad that Fireheart couldn't be here, too."

"Tigerstar," Graystripe said, drawing nearer.

"Sorry, Graystripe," Tigerstar said, looking back briefly, "but Sandstar is in another camp." With this, he stood, turning to face his visitor.

"What happened?" Graystripe asked.

"What you see before you is what remains of an old vendetta," Tigerstar said. "Aged, ripened, and savored."

"Who attacked you? This is the work of an army. Was it Brokenstar?"

Tigerstar gave a grunting laugh. "Back to being a detective, I see," he said.

"I'm just doing what I have to do to-"

"To save the clans," Tigerstar finished. "Of course. I heard you were coming." He sighed, sounding nostalgic. "Those were good days, weren't they?"

"They say you changed after the Cannibal's Attack," Graystripe said. "That you lost your taste for war. Fireheart always thought you'd return, though."

Tigerstar sighed. "I knew, a long time ago: before Hawkstar became Skyclan's leader, before Scourge was tearing Windclan down, and before anyone had even heard of Brokenstar, I knew. I knew this wasn't a place for old-fashioned warriors like Fireheart and me anymore. Those years of terror and respect, they're just shadows now, reduced to nothing."

"I'll ask again," Graystripe said. "What happened?"

"Brokenstar led them, yes," Tigerstar said, "but these weren't normal cats. These were creatures of the blackest night, and they come from times older than you and I can possibly imagine. I suppose that's how it always is, in the end: the oldest creatures return and take back what's theirs."

"Blackest night?" Graystripe repeated. "You mean the End of Days?"

Tigerstar gave another grunting laugh. "Darkstripe wishes," he said. "_They _found _him. _And they found him insufficient. That's why they turned to Brokenstar, when they found him hiding in the clans' shadows."

"But you fought them off! You fought off Brokenstar _and _his army!"

"Oh, I fought them off, alright," Tigerstar growled. "He'd kidnaped Sandstar and defeated Fireheart, and no one does that but _me. _If you slight Tigerstar like that, you don't turn up in his territory without a deathwish."

"_Brokenstar _kidnaped Sandstar?" Graystripe asked.

"Don't be sad that you missed them," Tigerstar growled. "The blackest night- they'll be back. They have a prize they missed last time."

"A prize?"

Tigerstar sighed. "They once said I was made of stone. Maybe on the outside, but it's the inside where the venom works. Yes, the insides: _that's _the butcher's target." He started to laugh again, but this time, the laugh gave way to a cough, and stumbled. Graystripe's eyes fell on his paw, where there was a cut that had turned a strange shade of yellow.

"You're poisoned!"

"I'm just the next body on the pile," Tigerstar sighed. "Tell me something: Brokenstar sent you here, with thoughts of killing me in your head?"

"He said you attacked him."

Tigerstar gave another choking laugh. "He is a slick rat, isn't he? Listen, Brokenstar may not be the butcher, but whether he is or not, he's deep in with the killings. With me out of they way, he'll be in the right place to take this kingdom for himself, using the island as his camp." With another sigh, Tigerstar said, "Did you know that the Moonpool began to glow when the Cannibal arrived?"

They were interrupted when two warriors staggered out, both beaten and bloody. "Tigerstar!" one of them choked out. "They're coming!"

"It's said that Starclan left us that day. The island is empty now. It's only a place of dread." He was interrupted by another coughing fit. Turning to Graystripe, he said, "Those were good days, weren't they?"

"They were," Graystripe agreed. Almost to himself, he added, "Those _were _good days."

Coughing again, Tigerstar said, "Maybe we're right to fear the island. It's the butcher's lair. It's there, hidden up in the trees, that Brokenstar has Sandstar." Still more coughing.

"Who is the butcher?" Graystripe asked urgently. "Brokenstar? Darkstripe? _Who?_"

"Questions for the dead," Tigerstar said. As he spoke, they suddenly heard pawsteps thundering across the territory towards him. "The blackest night are returning. Now, witness the end of an era!"

Several voices came from around them. However, they were all the same voice. All these invading cats were the same, repeated over and over again. And, with a bolt of horror, Graystripe realized that he recognized those cats, who Tigerstar had identified as the blackest night. "_Blackpelt?" _he asked.

"Oh, yeah," one of the Blackpelts said, standing in front of him. "Didn't I tell you? I'm the blackest night! Isn't it great?" Tigerstar lunged at one of the other Blackpelts, as his two warriors also got in on the action. The Blackpelt that Graystripe had been speaking to continued. "You see, I ruled this territory _long _before you clans got here. I've been weakened, but I watched as everything changed, and really, I don't like what I see. The butcher? We work very close together. Don't worry: cutting out insides isn't my thing." With this, he jumped forward, claws out, but he was stopped when Tigerstar rammed into him, pinning him down and biting into his throat. As that Blackpelt died, he gave a gasp and seemed to turn into black smoke. However, there were still many more.

Turning to Graystripe, Tigerstar suddenly grinned. "You never listened to my orders," he growled, "but listen to this one! Live through this day, and tell Fireheart that _nobody _made a trophy out of Tigerstar!" With this, he jumped down near the riverbank, and returned with a strange plant in his mouth. Graystripe recognized it as one of the plants that Darkstripe had made. Brokenstar's words rang in his ears: _a while back, old Darkstripe found that, if you combined certain plants, they'd make a very nice burst of fire._ Tigerstar shouted, "Tonight, the clans pay their debts!" With this, he reared up on his hind legs, the plant in his mouth. Graystripe quickly turned, running. Not a moment too soon. The next moment, the plant slammed into the ground, and even from the distance, Graystripe could feel some heat from the fire.

XXXX

Millie and Ravenpaw walked through the forest, until they found Ravenpaw's den, a fair bit away from the main clans. "Thanks for the walk, Millie," Ravenpaw said, smiling at her, and receiving a smile in return. He turned to go in.

"Goodbye," Millie said. "Remember to take care of Violet, right?"

Ravenpaw smiled at the thought. "Of course. Thanks, Millie."

Smiling, Millie turned and started home. As she walked away, she passed Jumper, who was walking to Ravenpaw's den with a plant in his mouth, a happy look on his face, as usual. Millie glanced back at him, but brushed it off, continuing home.

XXXX

Back at his camp, Dustpelt looked mournfully down at the ground, still remembering all the good times. Suddenly, he felt a burst of pain his neck. He gave a gasp, stumbling forward and collapsing to the ground. Behind him stood Fernstar, her jaws slightly bloody. She quickly turned and ran off. Struggling, Dustpelt attempted to force himself to his feet, even struggling to breath, but he collapsed yet again, breathing heavily.

XXXX

Finally, Jumper arrived in front of Ravenpaw's den. Ravenpaw came out to greet him. "Oh, hi, Jumper!" he said cheerfully.

"I have a gift from Hoot!" Jumper said, pushing the plant forward.

"Oh, thanks!" Ravenpaw said, glancing weirdly at it. "Do you want to come in, or-"

"Sorry, can't!" Jumper said. "If I hurry, I get to go through the dark river!" Sounding like this was the greatest thing ever, he turned and bounded off. Ravenpaw shrugged and picked up the plant, carrying it in.

XXXX

Looking at his den's floor, Fireheart saw a bit of blood there. Sitting up, he saw the source of the blood. "No!" he shouted, as if to Starclan themselves. "NOOOO!" Lying across from him, bloody, mangled, and very clearly dead, was Midnight.

XXXX

Violet walked through the forest, grinning when she saw Ravenpaw's den up ahead. She started forward, but jumped back in shock as it suddenly burst into flame.

XXXX

Graystripe saw it as well. He'd been traveling to Ravenpaw's house to deliver the news. Seeing the fire, he ran forward.

Upon arriving, he found Millie and Violet already on either side of Ravenpaw. Ravenpaw himself lay, blackened and charred, between them. "Ravenpaw!" he called as he raced towards them. "Ravenpaw! RAVENPAW!" Glancing at the others, he asked, "What happened?"

"Hoot!" Millie said, remembering Jumper. "It had to be!"

Ravenpaw suddenly gave a gasp, looking up at them all. "Graystripe," he said, panting for breath. "Hi. You- you seemed to like... my songs. I was practicing... when you- found me, that day at Hoot's. I had a song for you- The Mentor- and the... Apprentice. I didn't want you to know- until... it was ready." He gave a few more struggled gasps, then lay back. If it wasn't for his pelt being charred, he might have been sleeping.

"Ravenpaw!" Graystripe said.

"NOOOO!" Violet screamed. "NOOOO!"

Graystripe leaned over, licking Ravenpaw's forehead one last time. Millie leaned over to pay her respects as well. "Make sure he gets a good funeral," Graystripe said. "He deserves it." Turning, his eyes fell on what seemed to be the burnt remains of a plant. He recognized it as the other plant prepared by Darkstripe. He looked around. There was one last place he had to go before he went to the island. He headed off.

XXXX

Finally, Graystripe arrived at the Moonpool. "Starclan," he said, heading down. "Why have you abandoned us?" As he arrived at the pool, he bent down and drank from it, and felt himself falling asleep.

When he woke, he found himself awake in a clearing. In front of him stood Ravenpaw, with stars in his fur. "Graystripe," he said. "I'm sorry I couldn't follow you into the last battle."

"I don't blame you," Graystripe said sadly. "You were the greatest cat these clans knew. We'll always remember you."

Ravenpaw stepped forward. "I... I know that things are bad now, but please, trust me: they'll get better. If you have to do one thing to remember me, don't lose faith."

Graystripe sorrowfully nodded. "Ravenpaw, did you ever finish that song?"

"The song?" Ravenpaw said, sounding embarrassed. "Oh, you wouldn't want to hear that."

"But you have a wonderful voice," Graystripe said. "It's been a long day, things aren't the best. I could use one of your songs right now."

Ravenpaw gave a slight laugh at the memory. "Okay. Just a second." After a brief pause, he began his song. "He wants to be the very best, like no one ever was."

XXXX

Several cats gathered at Ravenpaw's funeral to remember him. Violet herself stood up to say a few words.

XXXX

"To teach them is a real test, to train them is the cause! Oh, 'cause it's you and me. I know it's my destiny!"

XXXX

Fireheart sat grieving in front of Midnight's body. Later would be the time for battle, but now was the time to remember his fallen friend.

XXXX

"Oh, you're my best friend, in this world we must defend!"

XXXX

Dustpelt struggled across his clearing to his den, struggling to breath, every movement costing him.

XXXX

"Oh, hearts so true! Our courage will pull us through! You teach me and I'll teach you! Ohhh, ohhh." The song ended. Looking sheepishly at Graystripe, he asked, "So, was it any good?"

_XXXX_

Please R&R, constructive criticism welcome, flames not, Gamer4 out.


	10. The Clans that Bred Heroes

Gamer4 in. So here it is, we draw upon the end. Once more, let us begin the final chapter.

Disclaimer: Its. The. Last. Chapter.

Chapter X

The Clans that Bred Heroes

Graystripe walked up from the moonpool's valley. Off in the distance, the island shone. That was his destination: the lair of the butcher. For Sandstar, for Fireheart, for Ravenpaw, and for all the cats who had been hurt under this reign of darkness, he had to go there, and find out the truth. As he set off, he could sense the end coming near.

XXXX

Hoot sat in his den, giving some fresh-kill to Jumper, who eagerly ate it, rubbing up to his brother with a wide grin on his face. For once, Hoot made no effort to push him away. He looked nervously off into the distance. He knew it, he'd known for a while now: the final battle was coming.

XXXX

Billystorm stood in front of the graves he'd dug for Leafdapple and Sharpclaw. No matter what he'd said about them, they'd been his partners. Quietly, he dropped some fresh-kill there, muttering, "Have some on me," before turning, unsheathing his claws. The final battle was just around the corner.

XXXX

Fernstar gazed into a pool, misery evident on her face. She forced herself to pull together. She was the leader of all the clans now, and she'd done a great deal to get that far. She couldn't fall back now. Not with the final battle so close.

XXXX

Violet looked around her den, sheathing and unsheathing her claws, memories of Ravenpaw running through her head. So much had been lost here, but she knew, no matter what, that she'd do her part in the final battle.

For Ravenpaw.

XXXX

Millie stood outside her old den, looking at her claws: once so familiar, now so foreign. It had been so long since she'd been in a real fight. She could barely remember when the clans had been great. But that was what they were going to change. She looked off. The final battle was drawing near.

XXXX

Brambleclaw and Berrynose stood near the outskirts of the clans. They stopped to throw back one last glance. Not for the first time, Brambleclaw wondered if, maybe, they should go back and help after all. But no, they couldn't. The final battle was coming, and that wasn't for them.

XXXX

Fireheart gazed into a puddle. It seemed so long since he'd bent down for a drink and seen his face become that of a lion. He'd failed to protect the clans, and his friends. But he refused to give up: there was still something to fight for. Once again, an image of the good days crossed his mind: him, Sandstar, and Graystripe laughing at some long-forgotten joke. He stiffened, turning. The final battle was near.

XXXX

On the island, peering out over the treetops, Brokenstar peered out over the territory: _his _territory, now that Tigerstar was dead. He saw cats milling around. They would be there to oppose him. Like they _could, _when he had the butcher on his side.

A smile crossed his face. Oh, yes. Let them come.

XXXX

Finally, Graystripe arrived in a large clearing between the territories of Skyclan, Riverclan, and Windclan. At the edge of this clearing was the shore of the lake. A large fallen tree formed a bridge to the island. Suddenly, he turned around as several warriors appeared. The cat that was apparently leading them was Hoot. Two cats jumped over, pinning him down. "Graystripe," Hoot said, grinning.

"Hoot," Graystripe said, growling.

"Let him go," Hoot ordered. The two warriors obeyed. "Look at these sorry warriors," Hoot said, glancing at the warriors behind them, who were all battered and beat up. "Look at their terrified faces!" As he said this, he beckoned, and Longtail appeared out of the crowd.

His fur was wild, and he looked ungroomed and scared. "Tigerstar!" he shouted out. "How could we lose you?"

"They don't have anything left," Hoot muttered. "Maybe none of us do."

As he said this, they heard the padding of several more pawsteps. Turning, they saw several more warriors coming from another side. They were led by Fireheart. Violet, Billystorm, and Ashfoot were at his immediate sides. Ashfoot wore Scourge's claw reinforcements, and Violet and Billystorm stared straight ahead. Several names were being called out by the various warriors. "Midnight! Ravenpaw! Scourge! Leafdapple! Sharpclaw!" and so many others. They were chanting the names of those they were fighting for.

Finally, they arrived in the clearing, and for a moment, all was silent, as the two armies stared at each other, Graystripe in between.

Fireheart broke the silence. Shouting, he called out to all present: "We're here to take back our clans!"

"Fireheart!" Graystripe said, turning desperately to his friend. "This is what Brokenstar wants! He wants to see you kill each other off-"

"I don't care what Brokenstar wants!" Fireheart interrupted. "I'm here for Tigerstar!"

"Fireheart," Graystripe said, "Tigerstar's dead."

Far from calming Fireheart down, this seemed to enrage him even more. "By whose claws?" he shouted.

"You have to go back!" Graystripe said. "The war has to end!"

"No, _you _go, Graystripe," Fireheart growled. "If I can't get Tigerstar, then we'll take the rest! ATTACK!"

Fireheart's army rushed forward, claws out, lips pulled back. Graystripe stepped back as Hoot's army rushed out to meet them. Turning, he saw that Hoot hadn't gone forward with them. Turning to him, he jumped at him, pinning him to the ground. "Did you kill Ravenpaw?" he shouted.

"I... I..." Hoot stammered. Finally, he managed, "I've never been a proud cat. Only a survivor."

Graystripe looked back. He had to go over the bridge soon, or he wouldn't be able to. He sliced a claw across Hoot's face, and ran off, shouting, "You'll get yours, Hoot! You'll get yours!"

He ran to the bridge. As he crossed to the island, thoughts ran through his head: so much death and loss. If Tigerstar had been right, then Sandstar, Brokenstar, and the butcher were all waiting on this island. This was where he'd end it.

When he touched the shore, his eyes fell on a cat watching the battle from afar. It was Darkstripe, the End of Days. He gave a laugh as he saw the cats struggling. Graystripe ran over, a bit of the plant he'd found at Ravenpaw's den in his mouth. Dropping it, he shouted, "This is _yours! You _made these plants!"

Darkstripe turned, amusement in his face. "This truly is a magnificent place, isn't it? A shrine to those who have left us, for whom _we _are only _trophies._" As he said this, he gave a laugh, as if the sentence meant more than Graystripe knew. Graystripe glanced down, seeing one of Darkstripe's balls on the ground next to him.

"You're crazy," he growled. "Where's Brokenstar?"

"Is this about Ravenpaw?" said Brokenstar's voice: Graystripe turned to see him emerging from the darkness. "Some might say _you _had a part in that. When you got those plants, what made you think that you should deliver such dangerous items to such a dangerous cat? What were you-"

He was cut off when Graystripe jumped on him, pinning him to the ground, shouting and slicing at him with each word. "I'VE- HAD- _ENOUGH_- OF YOUR- MIND GAMES!"

Just as he was about to bring his claws down again, Brokenstar pushed up, forcing Graystripe off of him. "Ravenpaw had a spark, there's no denying it," he said. "Not that common, with cats from his part of the territory. He could have done some great things, sure, but the clans have no place for heroes. You've proved that already."

"I'll accept whatever punishment I have waiting for me," Graystripe growled, "but only when I see Sandstar safe! Why did you take her?"

"She didn't belong with us," Brokenstar growled. "Warriors, heroes, rogues, it doesn't matter anymore. The cannibal left a festering scar of fear that tore us all apart. And Sandstar, well, she failed to bow to it!"

"So you just wanted a leader out of the way?" Graystripe growled. "That would lead us all to destruction! Why?"

He unsheathed his claws, ready to jump again, but before he could, he was rammed into from the side. Looking up, he saw Fernstar keeping him down. "Whatever he's got coming," Graystripe growled, glancing at Brokenstar, "_you'll _share it."

Fernstar gave a small smile, turning to Brokenstar, and they gave each other a quick lick.

Brokenstar turned to Graystripe, growling. "You judge her when she suffered so much? You judge her when she watched the clans fall twice, while you sat and reaped the benefits of an old medicine den? You judge her-"

"Yeah, we get it, he judges her!" shouted another voice. "I'd wondered how he convinced you." Turning, they all saw Dustpelt leaning against a tree, just on the shore of the island.

"You!" Brokenstar growled.

"Sorry I'm late, Graystripe," Dustpelt glanced at him. "I had some potent healing herbs in my store, they can heal almost any wound, you remember that, right?" Graystripe gave a quick nod. "Yeah, well, I hope that you saved some action for me." Turning to Brokenstar, he growled, "You underestimate warriors and heroes, Brokenstar." Turning to Fernstar, he added, "You were right. I should have been stronger. Let's rebuild the clans. Together!"

Brokenstar turned to Fernstar just in time to dodge the claw she swung at him and pin her to the ground. Growling, he said, "She-cats. Can't live with them, can't live without-" He was cut off as Dustpelt rammed into his side, and he fell off of Fernstar. He turned back to Dustpelt, who was once again standing at the edge of the clearing. Turning to Dustpelt as he stood, Brokenstar growled, "Warriors, you say? Heroes? Just curious bits of history, from a forgotten world! There's barely anything left! Come on, then, _hero. _Come at me, _warrior. _Stand up and face me!"

"Fine with me," Dustpelt growled, standing. "But I should warn you: I'm ready for anything." He stood firm, his claws unsheathed.

Brokenstar growled, his claws unsheathed, and he began running at him. Dustpelt stood, waiting for him to arrive, but Graystripe could see the real weakness in Dustpelt's legs, and he remembered his words: _You need to stay calm for a bit after using this plant._ Fernstar must have seen this too, because she shouted, "No!" jumping in front of him, her own claws out. The next second, it was over. Brokenstar jumped forward, sliced his claws across Fernstar's throat, pushing her out of the way, and plunged his teeth into Dustpelt's throat. Dustpelt fell, dead before he hit the ground.

For one moment, before she died, Brokenstar went over to Fernstar and licked her head. And then she was limp.

Brokenstar stood quiet for a moment, then turned back to Graystripe. "That is the worth of heroes, Graystripe. That's what sacrifice is worth. Pathetic, isn't it? It's better for us to accept that the great days are gone for good." Walking over, he stood on Graystripe, putting his paw on his throat. "But still, _you _remain. You learned a thing or two from Sandstar, it seems. Once she went missing, you should have lost everything, but you didn't! You got up, you rose, and everyone else began to rise around you, shaking the dust off their pelts and beginning to fight again! But for _what, _Graystripe? What's left to fight for?" Graystripe, with Brokenstar's paw on his throat, couldn't answer.

Suddenly, there was a shout from the bridge. "Graystripe!" That was Millie.

Brokenstar looked up, grinning, and Graystripe turned to see. "Oh, look at this," Brokenstar growled. "Another _hero. _Your just a crazy she-cat, who can't pass up a tom without climbing into their den." Glancing at Graystripe, he growled, "Is _this _your savior? Is this all?"

"Ah, Brokenstar, it's been so long," said another voice. Looking, they saw Brambleclaw and Berrynose jumping down from the bridge to the island, standing at Millie's side.

Brokenstar growled, releasing Graystripe and backing away. "I thought you two were leaving."

"We were about to," Brambleclaw said, "but Berrynose didn't get to say goodbye." Glancing at Graystripe, he said, "Ravenpaw was right. We need to stand our ground."

"All you artifacts are lining up, one by one," Brokenstar growled. "All because of that worthless leader and one of her worthless toms." He stood back, his claws unsheathed, but stopped as the sound of many pawsteps reached their ears, as well as many triumphant shouts. Graystripe recognized Blackpelt's voice.

"The blackest night is singing," Darkstripe said, sounding excited, drawing nearer to his ball.

XXXX

Below, the battle was raging. Mistyfoot and Whitetail fought together, slicing down enemies. Weaselfur raked his claws around, pinning down cats and only letting them free when they begged for mercy.

Fireheart strode around, looking for someone to fight, when his eyes fell on Longtail, using his senses to stay out of the fighting as much as possible. "_You!" _he growled, jumping over and pinning him down. "How did Tigerstar die?"

"I don't know!" Longtail cried. "No one can have that kind of power!"

Fireheart furiously slashed him across the face, sending him backwards. Another cat lunged at him, and he turned in time to see him, but was caught off guard. For a moment, he thought he was done, but Billystorm careened out of nowhere and slammed the cat to the ground, giving him some scratches to remember, then turning to Fireheart. "You want to watch yourself," he warned. "These cats have nowhere else to go. We'll all be dead by morning!"

"Fine with me," Fireheart growled. Turning, he lunged into the fray. A warrior came at him, only to jump back as Fireheart viciously raked his claws down his stomach. Another cat jumped forward, raking at his legs, but Fireheart bashed a paw down on his head. He turned and took out two more warriors within a few seconds. He turned, dodging another warrior swinging at him, and slashed him across the face. The next moment, three cats jumped on him at once, claws flying, but he pushed them all away, and they all fled bearing his marks. Only one stood his ground, and Fireheart jumped onto his back, throwing all his weight down, and the cat collapsed beneath him. The other two turned back, seeing their fallen comrade, and came at him: he slashed one's legs and shoved him into the other, and they both fell. Turning, looking for another opponent, he saw Hoot standing at the edge of the fighting. He growled, prepared to jump forward. Hoot looked up, seeing him, and turned and ran. Fireheart prepared to follow him, but was cut off by Willie and Snapper. They advanced on him.

Suddenly, Onewhisker appeared at his side. "Well, it's obvious these two have no code of honor," he snarled at them. "We'll have to separate them!"

Willie and Snapper continued to advance, only to separate as Billystorm appeared, jumping between them, raking his claws down both their sides. "You get on with the battle!" he growled at Fireheart. "This mousebrain and I have some unfinished business." Fireheart reluctantly turned and jumped back into the fray elsewhere. For a moment, Billystorm and Onewhisker advanced on each other, claws unsheathed, but the next, they were back to back, turning as Willie and Snapper continued to pace around them, claws still out. Onewhisker faced Willie, and Billystorm Snapper. Onewhisker noticed that Willie, though grinning, seemed to be limping slightly from the wound Billystorm had inflicted on him. Suddenly, they heard the pawsteps and the shouting voices as well. "What is _that?_" Billystorm wondered out loud.

XXXX

Several of the Blackpelts were arriving on the island. "The demons are here!" Darkstripe cried joyfully, laughing. "They come to spill the blood by which they were awakened!"

As he spoke, Millie and Brambleclaw struggled with several of the Blackpelts. Brokenstar ran towards the trees. "Make your choice, Graystripe!" he shouted. "Sandstar waits in the butcher's lair!" With this, he bounded up into the trees. Graystripe watched, slightly hesitating.

As he watched, he could here Darkstripe crying out, "Now, the end!" laughing as he did so.

XXXX

Onewhisker and Billystorm still stood back to back against Willie and Snapper. "Stand tall," Onewhisker said. "We're true warriors, they're _nothing _to us!"

"If the world is ending, maybe only cowards will survive!" Billystorm growled, slashing at the throat of a passing Blackpelt. He fell, turning to black smoke. He turned, seeing all the other Blackpelts, and spun to chase them. As he did, Willie and Snapper appeared, side by side, before them.

Snapper glanced over, seeing that Willie had been injured, and bit his throat. He fell, dead. She jumped at Onewhisker, and the two of them became a ball of writhing claws and teeth. Finally, Onewhisker came out on top, slicing her throat and turning back to the main battle.

XXXX

A bit of distance from the battle, Hoot stood over an unconscious cat, who had passed by with catmint. He was picking it up, looking for spoils, when he heard pawsteps nearby. Looking up, he saw Violet, Ravenpaws friend, approaching. She looked at him silently. "Oh, hi," he said, laughing nervously. "I know it's not great, but, you know, in this world, we all have to do what we have to do, don't we?"

"Remember Ravenpaw?" Violet hissed in a deadly whisper, her claws unsheathed.

Hoot looked at her claws, fear entering his face. "Okay, we'll, uh, get some catmint, shall we? It gets you ahead in the clans, I know a great place to get it, we can use it to, uh, bring back the place Hawkstar made, to take care of young cats." As he spoke, he slowly began moving towards her, his own claws silently unsheathing. He looked up to see that Violet had suddenly drawn nearer, fury in her face. He suddenly backed up, fear dominating his face, as Violet readied herself-

The next moment, Hoot's scream arose from that part of the forest. No one knows exactly what happened, but he was never heard from again.

XXXX

"Watch... now!" Darkstripe cried.

XXXX

Back in the main battle, Ashfoot had just used Scourge's claws to swipe down another Blackpelt. Mistyfoot joined in, jumping on top of one and biting his throat. Nearby, Fireheart was lunging through the battle, taking down each one that he could. His eyes fell upon a ball of moss that lay down far from him: the same ball of moss that Darkstripe had had with him when Leafdapple died. One of the Blackpelts was bent over it. He began to run over, but was stopped by Jaggedtooth, who rammed into him, almost breaking his front leg. He quickly bit into Jaggedtooth's paw, and he reeled back to the side, looking down at it. He continued to run forward.

Too late. The Blackpelt pulled something out of the moss: one of Darkstripe's balls. He quickly broke it between his teeth. He began to rise into the air, and as he did, the other Blackpelts did as well. They were forming into a gigantic black ball, rising further into the air. Once it had risen, it suddenly took shape. The shape was indescribable. It was catlike, but it was horrifying to look at. It was a monstrosity of the like the clans had never seen: the true form of the Blackest Night.

The Blackest Night looked to the ground, grinning at them all. A claw shot out, and Ashfoot fell to the ground, dead. Another lash of the thing's claws, and before she could even react, Mistyfoot saw it go through her, and she fell, limp. The warriors looked up at the monstrosity, then turned to run, but it continued lashing claws out at them, killing one with each swipe.

Fireheart glared down at the moss ball. Darkstripe seemed to have cherished it, and there was no way that Darkstripe would let himself or any of his loved items be left behind. He plunged his claws into the moss ball, ignoring the pain in his shoulder from where Jaggedtooth had hit him. He tore it apart, looking for what he knew must be in there.

As he did, Onewhisker was still looking around, unaware of the creature. The Blackest Night looked down at him, and plunged a claw forward. However, just before Onewhisker would have died, Billystorm appeared, shouting, "Move it, mouse brain!" Billystorm knocked Onewhisker out of the way, only to feel a burst of pain as the claw entered him instead. He collapsed, unmoving.

Onewhisker watched Billystorm fall, seeing the Blackest Night, and realized what Billystorm had done. "Courage lives on still!" he said, feeling respect for the fallen warrior.

XXXX

On the island, Darkstripe joyfully cried out, "The End of Days has come!" He began to laugh, but was cut off as a claw from the Blackest Night came and struck him down as well. Graystripe saw Darkstripe's ball. Glancing back at where Brokenstar had fled, he picked up the ball in his teeth and finally pursued him.

XXXX

Finally, among the fallen moss, Fireheart found what he'd been looking for: one of Darkstripe's other balls. He quickly brought his teeth down on it, just as he'd seen Blackpelt do, and began to glow as he felt power surge through him. But right now, there was only one thing he wanted to do: he spun around, facing the Blackest Night. All the other cats watched in amazement as he advanced on it, glaring up at it. "What's this?" the Blackest Night asked in a horrible, cold voice. "A kittypet playing the hero?"

Fireheart glared up at it. "You fox dung," he said. "I'm no kittypet." And with this, he unleashed his power upon it: fire swirled around the monstrosity. The Blackest Night's expression turned from amusement to pain and horror as the fire grew and swirled, until suddenly, it gave a scream, and, with a burst of fire, it was gone.

XXXX

The trees on the island had grown wild since Graystripe had been there last. They blocked out all light, and he was able to walk without trouble. He knew the feeling that crept up on him as he continued his pursuit of Brokenstar: it was the feeling he'd had the night Silverstream had died. Suddenly, everything was clear.

He was up in the thickest part of the trees, when he saw a cat in the distance. Advancing, he saw that it was Firekit. The kit looked forward unseeingly, and Graystripe could tell as he drew near that he was dead. On Firekit's face was an expression of joy, and laughter. Several scars ran around Firekit's body as he sat, gazing emptily at nothing.

Horror creeping up on him, Graystripe stepped around Firekit's body, only to look up and see another: a body he recognized as Deadfoot's. Unlike Firekit, his lips were parted in a snarl, as if in defiance at death. Scars ran across him as well. Looking at him, Graystripe saw another out of the corner of his eye: turning, he saw a cat that he might have mistaken for Tigerstar or Brambleclaw, but his eyes were a piercing blue. Hawkstar, former leader of Skyclan. His face was one of pure terror, and, just like the others, scars ran around him. Backing away from him, Graystripe turned around just in time to not run into another cat: turning, he saw a black cat with one white paw. Scourge looked forward, looking almost bored, and Graystripe remembered that he hadn't realized that the butcher had been advancing on him. Scars ran around him.

Words from both Darkstripe and Tigerstar rang in his head: _Tell Fireheart that no one made a trophy out of Tigerstar! _

_A shrine to those who have left us, for whom we are only-_

"Trophies," Graystripe spoke aloud.

Suddenly, Brokenstar was there as well. "They're power for the blackest night," he said. "Like you've probably heard, Blackpelt has been around for a long while, longer even than Starclan, and he hates us more than you can know. Just as you found strength in Ravenpaw, and Sandstar, they found theirs in evil. The acts of the butcher gave them power, as well as the whispers of the Cannibal. Oh, yes, your butchers? They were made through madness."

"_They?_" Graystripe repeated, thunderstruck. "Who?"

The sound of pawsteps entered the darkness. "They're coming," Brokenstar grinned.

Out of the darkness came two cats: one was a gray tabby, whose eyes looked forward unseeingly. The other was a golden-furred tabby. The memory of the kits from Skyclan crossed his mind, the cats who'd given him the courage to keep fighting. "No..." he said, horror shooting through him. The cats turned to look at him, even the blind one, who seemed to look into his soul. They grinned, and he heard a laugh, though neither had spoken. Suddenly, he felt as though a giant paw was forcing him to the ground, and he lowered to the floor, pain shooting through him, as the Skyclan kits stood above him, grinning down.

"You knew I'd tricked you," Brokenstar smiled, "but you didn't realize just how far I'd gone. What was it Sandstar was so fond of saying? 'As long as there's one kit worth fighting for?'"

"These kits..." Graystripe choked out.

"Oh, Jaypaw and Lionpaw?" Brokenstar grinned at him. "Yeah, they gave you the will to fight, didn't they, over on Skyclan territory. Of course they were on Skyclan territory: that's where they spent their lives: Hawkstar tortured them there, training them to be his personal warriors, and they suffered for moons under his paws."

"His home for young cats..."

"The Cannibal was fond of Skyclan territory, during his reign. It was where all those deemed unworthy of the main clans were getting shoved, and he enjoyed the misery of it all. It was where he made the camp from where he led his Attack."

"And then Hawkstar went there... he wanted to take advantage, to become a leader... Smudge looked for him..."

"But the Cannibal didn't feed that day, did he?" Brokenstar said, and Graystripe heard another laugh from Jaypaw and Lionpaw. "No, he was too evil. He knew that he might fall one day, and he wanted someone to carry on if he couldn't. There was a prophecy going around the clans, _There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws. _That's what Jaypaw and Lionpaw are: they have power. Power we can barely imagine. The Cannibal knew the prophecy, and he whispered into Hawkstar's ears. That's when-"

"Hawkstar rose to power," Graystripe finished. "The first corrupt leader. He was obsessed... with his home for young cats..."

"He ruled with fear as his ultimate weapon. He sought the three cats with the power that he sought to protect him from the Cannibal, and to use to take over the clans. He found Jaypaw and Lionpaw, but he never found the third. He tormented all who got in his way, using Jaypaw and Lionpaw. Some died, most that lived had gone insane, and were sent to Chelford asylum. But rumors ran that Hawkstar was particularly cruel to two of those cats, he was training the two he'd found, and they suffered. No one knew how far his cruelty ran. Finally, they escaped, but they'd been ruined. Blackpelt found them, and led me to them. They've been corrupted by their years of horror with Hawkstar. They can use their power to rip the insides out of they're victims. And just like Smudge, they kill to feed their hunger, fueled by the sadism Hawkstar gave to them."

"So you guided them... had them kill the trophies to appease the Blackest Night..."

"They were eager to avenge themselves upon the one who'd made them suffer so much," Brokenstar said. Looking up, Graystripe saw, with another jolt of horror, that there was blood coming out of Brokenstar's nose. "We needed the trophies, yes, but _Hawkstar's _death, that was an accident. Once they were released-" Suddenly, a look of horror filled Brokenstar's face as well. "Starclan forgive me," he said. "Whatever the Cannibal started, they finished. They'll bring the end." Suddenly, with a gasp of pain, Brokenstar collapsed, just as Graystripe had, with Jaypaw grinning down at him as well. Looking at Graystripe, he said, "I wanted her still," he grunted, "we could have used her. But they wouldn't wait. They have their own plans. Can you imagine it, living with such pain, living from one moment to the next in eternal self-hatred? Causing violence to satisfy every bit of hunger." Brokenstar gave a grunt of pain. "So, tell me, Graystripe, how can true warriors, heroes, how can _good _exist when there's evil like this? They know nothing past violence, cruelty, and the pain it must inflict to ease the despair of its own existence."

Suddenly, Graystripe heard another voice in his head: Sandstar's. _Graystripe, _it said. He looked up to see her, sitting not that far away. Seeing him looking, Jaypaw backed away a bit, and Graystripe felt the force lift: he ran over to her. "Sandstar!"

"That's right, Graystripe, run to her," Brokenstar growled, Jaypaw and Lionpaw grinning even more nearby. "Crumble, like we all will."

Graystripe bent down, despair filling him, as he saw that Sandstar was dead as well, scars running around her just like all the others.

Jaypaw glanced at Lionpaw, as though asking, _Should we? _Lionpaw, grinning, nodded. Jaypaw grinned, turning back towards Sandstar.

Sandstar's head bent down towards Graystripe. _Graystripe, _the voice filled his head again. Graystripe staggered back, horror filling him, as she stood and advanced on him. As she stumbled towards him, more voices filled his head. Sandstar's, again: _You were never worth anything, Graystripe._

Ravenpaw: _Why did you kill me, Graystripe?_

Silverstream: _You fed me to Smudge!_

Sandstar turned towards him, and blood fell from her mouth, spattering on the ground.

"You see, Graystripe?" Brokenstar shouted, standing up again, as though Jaypaw and Lionpaw had lost focus on him. Blood was streaming from his nose and eyes. "The clans now know evil in its truest form! Its open maw is ready to devour all! All hope is gone! Only monsters are left to see the end!" Suddenly, he said, almost speaking to himself, "Gotta fight it. Gotta fight it. Gotta fight it!" Suddenly, he reared his head up, letting out a long shout of pain and despair. "Starclan, please, save us!"

Suddenly, more voices were heard. "Graystripe!" Brambleclaw shouted, running towards them, with Millie and Berrynose behind him. They ran in, gasping in horror as they took in the scene. Jaypaw and Lionpaw turned towards her, and, free from their power, Sandstar fell, and Brokenstar fled higher up in the trees. Brambleclaw and Berrynose ran ahead. Graystripe bent, despair consuming him, over Sandstar's body.

Millie shouted, "This is the end, Graystripe. She was a great cat, but there's no time for grieving right now! She needs a hero! You be that cat!" With this, she jumped forward, at Lionpaw. He glanced at her, and swiped a claw across her face, almost bored. She reeled backwards, horrible pain there, far more than she should have gotten from a simple swipe across the face.

Hearing Millie, Graystripe looked up. He stood and ran after Brokenstar.

Brambleclaw jumped at Jaypaw, ready to swipe a claw down on this evil creature, but Jaypaw looked up, and suddenly, Brambleclaw found that he couldn't bring the claw down any further. Jaypaw flicked his head, and Brambleclaw went flying backwards.

Both butchers then turned on Berrynose, who backed away, fear in his eyes. They advanced on him, and Berrynose let out a long scream as his tail was separated from his body.

XXXX

Graystripe ran up, following Brokenstar, up until they stood on the top of the trees, underneath the sky. It was a dark night, though it broke the tradition by not being stormy. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and every star shone. It was a beautiful sight that belied what was happening below. He saw Brokenstar not that far away. "It's done, Graystripe. We're all dead, all forgotten! The Cannibal's reign will outlive us all!"

Suddenly, another voice spoke from the darkness, which Graystripe recognized as Cloudtail. "Such ignorance," the voice said. Brokenstar turned to look at the speaker, and staggered back as an unseen pair of jaws pierced his throat. He staggered back. The voice spoke again: "You can't truly comprehend the scale you speak of. The clans are the Cannibal's legacy!" The speaker stepped from the darkness, and Graystripe staggered backward from the wild, cruel face.

"Hi!" Smudge grinned, as Jaypaw and Lionpaw appeared behind him. Graystripe fell backward, shaking his head. "Good evening, Graystripe. It's so good to see you. You ran so fast last time. Oh, _two _she-cats lost now? I hope you don't make a habit of this. We're alone up here, I think. Everyone thinks I'm dead. They found Cloudtail's body, and mistook it for mine. I guess we look so much alike. There's a story to that, believe it or not. It's a great story, I _must _tell it to you sometime."

Suddenly, Brokenstar reared up, claws out, and began moving forward. Smudge turned to him. "Oh, Brokenstar! You were so battered and pathetic there that, for a moment, I almost forgot you were there! But, I suppose that I owe you thanks for watching my apprentices while I couldn't. As your reward, I'll end your suffering." With this, he jumped forward, bringing his teeth together in Brokenstar's throat. He stepped back, and Brokenstar fell, dead. "Oh, Graystripe," Smudge grinned, turning back on him. "Still struggling to defend his clans, even as they bleed dry. I can hear your she-cats weeping. I told you, right from the beginning: your answers were at the start, waiting to consume you. Now, I tell you to submit to the darkness!" With this, he jumped at Graystripe. Graystripe struggled to keep Smudge away from him, but he felt pain as Smudge took some bites from him. His eyes fell on the ball that he'd taken from Darkstripe, so many moons ago. Letting out a scream, he plunged his claws into Smudge's face, and Smudge reeled back, and Graystripe brought his teeth down on it. It shattered, and he felt power coursing through him. He let it all out at once...

XXXX

So many cats lay dead below that the ground was invisible in some places. Mournfully, Fireheart and some other survivors, Whitetail, Longtail, Onewhisker, Spottedleaf, and a few others, turned, crossing the bridge to the island, searching for any living cats. There, they found the bodies of Dustpelt, Fernstar, and Darkstripe. Suddenly, they all lurched backwards as a burst of fire appeared at the top of the tree, swirling up into the sky. They looked up, and watched as Graystripe appeared, dragging Brokenstar's body. He collapsed, and Brokenstar fell down from the trees, landing down on the ground in front of Fireheart. Fireheart glanced at it for a moment before running up in the trees. A moment later, he appeared again, dragging Graystripe, despair in his face. For a moment, Jaggedtooth unsheathed his claws, ready at last to avenge Clawface, but Spottedleaf gently brushed him with her tail. He looked at her, sadness in her face, and quietly sheathed his claws again.

XXXX

_It was another great gathering. Fireheart was talking happily with Dustpelt and Ferncloud, who had become mates not that long ago. Graystripe was laughing off to the side. Onewhisker, Talltail, and Deadfoot were all laughing at a joke over in another corner. Sandstorm, current deputy of Thunderclan, sat at the edge of the island, looking out over the water. Seeing her, Graystripe headed over. "They're waiting for you," he said. "They want a speech."_

"_I'll be right there," Sandstorm said. "Right now, I just want to savor this: the last great moment of the clans."_

"_Don't talk like that!" Graystripe said. "The clans will always be great, no matter what, as long as you're here." _

"_These clans can't be saved by just one cat," Sandstorm said, sounding sad. "When we-"_

_She was cut off by Fireheart coming over. "Hey, what are you two lovebirds up to?" he asked, laughing. Glancing at Sandstorm, he said, "They want a speech," and turned back to the main gathering._

_After a bit of silence, Sandstorm said, "You were great out there. It reminded me of the old days. You were Silverstream's hero."_

"_I wasn't," Graystripe said, despair creeping into his voice. "I couldn't save her." After a bit of silence, he added, "Don't worry. As long as there's one kit, I'll fight."_

_Sandstorm gave him a quick lick, turning back to the main clearing to give her speech._

XXXX

Graystripe awoke, feeling pain on every bit of him, even at the edges of his pelt. Looking around, he realized he was in the medicine cats' camp. He saw Fireheart sitting nearby. As he looked, relief flashed across Fireheart's face, but then he spoke one single word: "Sandstar?"

Struggling to move, Graystripe shook his head from side to side. Fireheart began to shudder, and collapsed, weeping, into Graystripe's fur. Graystripe solemnly lifted one of his paws and lay it on Fireheart. Midnight and Sandstar, two of the most important things in the world to Fireheart, and he'd lost them both that day. They'd all lost so much, but now they were climbing out of the valley, and were ready to find the strength to rebuild. The demons would fall into nothingness, forgotten.

XXXX

A few days later, all the surviving cats were together, wounded. Longtail struggled to a hill nearby, calling, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here for a clan meeting!" Onewhisker had, a while ago, been appointed one of the leaders to replace the dead ones, as the last member of Dustpelt's force. He spoke.

"There have been so many deaths, and so much loss. There are no longer enough cats to support five clans, only one. We must unite for our own survival. The new clan will be called Stormclan, after one of our many fallen comrades. I will journey to the moonpool tomorrow night, and if Starclan agrees, I will receive my nine lives and my name. We have all suffered, but we must still struggle on. We will recover the kit and apprentice age cats from Hawkstar's old home for young cats, and they will know a true home in Stormclan. We must carry on, enduring with the bravery of those we've lost."

XXXX

The day after this announcement, Graystripe and Fireheart appeared in Hawkstar's home for the young cats, where Hawkstar had caused so much suffering. Several other warriors were there as well. "I can believe that Hawkstar tortured these cats," Fireheart said, looking around.

As Graystripe gave a nod of agreement, Millie appeared. "I was glad you could make it," she said. She had survived, but lost an eye for it.

"Thanks," he said.

Millie glanced at Fireheart. For a moment, he was silent. Finally, he said, "I like the new look. It suits you, really."

Millie gave a small laugh, turning back to the main home. As Graystripe watched her, memories flooding him, Fireheart asked, "Are you alright?"

Graystripe gave a nod. Fireheart gave a nod of his own, and they both went in.

Inside, Graystripe saw Berrynose, his tail heavily wrapped in cobwebs, struggling to carry something. Brambleclaw quickly rushed over to help. "No, I can handle it!" Berrynose said, not truly looking angry, as he took it back. Brambleclaw gave a bit of a laugh, turning as Graystripe rushed over.

"Think you're going to stay this time?" Graystripe asked.

Brambleclaw nodded. "I already forgot what it meant to be a warrior. Maybe we all did."

As Graystripe nodded, Millie came over. "Graystripe, there's a cat here to talk to you."

Graystripe nodded. As he did, he saw Violet escorting one of the young cats out: a small black apprentice age cat. He could hear her saying, "Where are Jaypaw and Lionpaw? They promised they'd always come back!" Graystripe realized that the two of them must have not been cruel to all, this seemed to be their sister.

Jumper appeared. "I heard they had the sight!" he said, laughing as he approached her.

"The sight?" the cat asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah, and they were looking to the sunrise!"

The kit gave a laugh, the despair leaving her face, and as the two continued speaking, Graystripe felt his heart warm a bit. A kit worth fighting for. Millie smiled as well. "Hey," she said, looking at Graystripe, "You'd have made her proud. There's a cat here for you."

Graystripe nodded. Brambleclaw gave him a last sign of respect, and he and Berrynose withdrew.

Graystripe went over to where Millie had flicked her tail to. However, walking a bit out into the forest, he didn't immediately see anyone. "Hello?" he asked.

Suddenly, a voice spoke out of the darkness. "And so your demons were slain, and the jaws of death closed."

Graystripe felt horror rush through him. "Smudge."

"Relax, Graystripe, I'm just here to say goodbye. Tell me, have you satisfied your she-cat?"

"Yes, both of them: Silverstream _and _Sandstar."

"A fine answer. Not that I'd expect anything less from you. You truly are a gem among warriors. I think you and your clans have earned a rest from me. I have to go anyways. Places to go, things to see, things to do. You know. Well, that's all, then. Farewell, warriors. Bear your scars well."

XXXX

Away from the forest, a woman heard a cat meowing at her door. Opening it up, she saw a cat looking up at her, with a wild face and a patched black and white pelt. "Oh, are you lost?" she asked. "Come in, let's see if we can do anything for you..."

Smudge grinned as he headed into Victoria Holmes's house.

_XXXX_

And, after that strange ending, I bid you all farewell for the last time. I hope you enjoyed

reading this story as much as I (sadistic as it sounds) enjoyed writing it. For the last time here, please R&R, constructive criticism welcome, flames not, Gamer4 out.


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